Post offices around the country are being expected to fill the void as Bankwest closes branches to go online.

Bankwest is set to close 29 branches over a three-week period from mid-August, leaving just 14 branches along the east coast.

Licensed Post Offices Group Chair Angela Cramp wants the bank to pay up to small businesses who are now tasked with offering banking services, especially in rural and regional communities.

She tells Ross Greenwood the situation is “dire”.

“The more work we do, the busier we are, the more money we lose.

“It’s great if somebody just wants to get $40 out of their bank account. That is a transaction that does work for all of us.

“It’s when somebody wants to come in and deposit their business banking or $5 and $10 in coins.”

“We could be counting that money for ten minutes for the same amount of money we are paid to give you $40 out of your card.”

Ms Cramp explains the licensed post offices are only given a flat rate for each transaction and says the issue is “there’s no visibility of the complexity of the transaction”.

“We get a flat fee for a 40-seconds transaction or a 20-minute transaction.

“That’s our problem.

“You can’t say to the other business owners in your area, ‘You cost me money, I’m not doing that, take it 100km to the nearest bank.'”

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