Uniondale, population 4500
(living people), will be left with only 1 bank (ABSA) come the end of October
2019 with the closure of the Standard Bank branch. This was not one of the
branches earmarked to be closed during 2019, when 104 Standard Bank branches across the
country were closed earlier this year.
The closure was announced in September,
after the CEO Sim Tshabalala announced that branch closures was a mistake: http://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/standard-bank-to-review-decision-to-close-90-branches/
Uniondale services a large agricultural
community beyond the town itself. The closure means job losses in a town already
struggling economically: most of the population depends either directly on grants or
government sponsored public works programs.
FNB closed its doors in Uniondale
roughly 7 years ago. I was banking with FNB at the time and switched to Standard
Bank, a bank I have used since my parents opened me an account when I was a
minor. While it is true that we mostly use online banking and the ATM, there
are definitely occasions when the staff are required: my elderly mother needing
to go into the branch recently when she encountered a problem with the ATM. Now,
the closest Standard Bank branch to Blue Hill Escape is either Oudtshoorn or George,
both a 2-hour one-way drive away. Now I will need to consider switching to the already very busy ABSA.
The closure of the branch
signifies a great betrayal to our family and to our rural community.
So if you see people on the side
of the N9 past Uniondale thumbing for a lift: its probably just some local people
trying to make their way to a bank, rather than the local ghost.
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| Standard Bank Uniondale: image grabbed from Google streetview. |
