Access Credit Union to shutter 5 rural branches, mulls Winnipeg closures

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This article was published 15/01/2025 (233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a move that may look like it came out of the playbook of big banks, Access Credit Union has announced it will be closing five rural Manitoba branches.

Effective May 22, Access branches in Birds Hill, Gretna, Lowe Farm and Miami will shutter; its Lundar site will close in mid-September.

In each community, Access is the only financial institution with a branch location. They are to be consolidated into branches in nearby larger centres.

Access became the largest credit union in the province by acquiring no less than six smaller credit unions over the past few years. As part of the mergers with Crosstown, Noventis, Sunova, Carpathia, Amaranth and Casera, it acquired locations in some tiny communities less than a 10-minute drive away from other branches.

Access CEO Larry Davey said the organization has closed branches in the past and has not heard much member dissatisfaction expressed.

“We decided to take this action because members’ behaviour is changing so much,” said Davey. “There is a movement to electronic transaction and people understand we have a lot of branches that are in close proximity to other branches.”

For instance, the Access Credit Union in Altona is less than a 10-minute drive from Gretna.

Dan Dyck, one of the elected committee members of the Local Urban District of Gretna, said locals are likely not to be too off-put.

“This doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “Traffic in and out of there has been pretty light for a while.”

Gretna residents need to go to Altona or elsewhere for groceries already and most travel outside Gretna to work, he added.

Davey said all staff at the soon-to-close sites (usually one or two per branch) will be guaranteed employment in some other capacity with Access.

Just like customers of big Canadian banks, Davey said credit union members don’t have to go to the building to do their normal banking business.

“Right now, a little less than five per cent of transactions are completed in the branch,” he said.

When technology that allows for deposits to be made anywhere became widespread and people could use their smartphone to deposit cheques, it started to dramatically reduce in-branch visits, Davey said. “It’s also reduced the usage of ATM, which has fallen even faster than bank transactions.”

The COVID-19 pandemic sped up the decrease in branch and ATM usage as well.

“Once e-transfer technology was widespread, it then negated the need to have small bits of cash around,” he said. “And we have seen that trend continue.”

In the past few years, Access has closed Winnipeg locations on Donald Street, Winnipeg Square, Main Street and Selkirk Avenue and one in Winnipeg Beach.

Davey said Access is looking at other locations in the capital city, with branches in close proximity to each other.

“For example, we have three branches in Transcona on Regent (Avenue) between Lagimodiere (Boulevard) and Plessis (Road),” Davey said. “Do we need three branches within a two- or three-minute drive of each other? Probably not.”

The credit union will go through any process of consolidation slowly and methodically, he added.

“Access is certainly being mindful of any impact we might have … and at the same time, we have committed that we will continue to support and invest in those communities.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca