In the heart of regional Victoria, where banks are shutting their doors, Mitch Patullo's family business, like many small retailers, relies on cash.
Key points:
- No banks remain in this regional north-west Victorian town where many people rely on cash
- The ATM on the main drag and the one in the supermarket regularly run out of money
- A Mildura Rural City councillor is preparing a submission for the inquiry into regional bank closures
The closure of the local Westpac branch in 2017 and Bendigo Bank in 2020 left residents of Red Cliffs in the state's north-west with limited options for accessing money.
The closest bank is in nearby Mildura, and locals said the Precinct ATM on Indi Avenue has been running dry as often as two weeks per month.
Consequently, the second ATM owned by Next Payments at the IGA on Ilex Street has also been running out of cash due to the increase in demand.
Keeping the Patullos' small wood art and plant business afloat over the past 12 months has become a difficult task.
"The only way is cash here," Mr Patullo said.
"If customers try to pay by card, they're told to go to the bank [ATM]."
Mr Patullo does not use EFTPOS in his business because he finds it too expensive.
On days ATMs in the town are empty, trade is difficult for the Patullos, as the business only accepts sales from those with money in their wallet.
The accessibility of cash hinges on Armaguard-Prosegur and Next Payments refilling the ATMs in a timely manner, but locals said that was not being done.
Armaguard-Prosegur is a merged company composed of the former two largest cash-in-transit groups in Australia: Linfox Armaguard and Prosegur Australia.
Next Payments was contacted for comment but did not respond by deadline.
Shops rely on IOUs
In a town without a bank, the limited banking services offered by the Red Cliffs Australia Post office are critical, but its closure on Saturdays and Sundays has left residents stranded on weekends.
And business owners who do offer EFTPOS-payment faced another challenge.
Daniel Minter Cakes Red Cliffs manager Grace Belsham said the internet dropped out as often as once every four to six weeks, making card payments impossible.
On those days where the ATMs are empty, the internet is down, and the post office is shut, Ms Belsham has given away produce on credit, writing IOUs and trusting customers to return their dues another day.
"We've had an incident this week where card payments weren't working because of an internet outage," she said.
"People come into pay and we have to write down their names and numbers."
Ms Belsham said she had to reject customers asking for cash out at least twice a day.
"We rely on technology for everything nowadays and it crashes all the time," she said.
EFTPOS at the bakery is reliant on a Telstra mobile connection.
Regional general manager for Telstra in Victoria Steve Tinker said although the company did not operate the EFTPOS network — as it was operated by financial institutions — many businesses used the Telstra mobile network for their EFTPOS terminals.
"If they [business owners] are having issues and currently have a mobile-only device and another connectivity option is available, we encourage businesses to contact their bank for details on how to switch between these methods to ensure continuous service," Mr Tinker said.
In mid-September 2023, Telstra upgraded the mobile base station in Beebers Lane in Red Cliffs to improve 5G connectivity.
ACCC concerns
Linfox Armaguard and Prosegur Australia merged in 2023, despite initial concerns from the ACCC the move might create a monopoly in banking services in remote locations.
In a public statement released by the ACCC on June 13 last year, ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said she believed without the proposed merger, either Armaguard or Prosegur would likely withdraw from the declining cash-in-transit market in the near future.
"Public access to cash was an important consideration for the ACCC, particularly in regional Australia where internet access issues can limit electronic payment options and for vulnerable consumers who are reliant on cash payments," the statement said.
The ACCC statement said to comply with the undertaking, the combined Armaguard-Prosegur would be required to continue offering cash-in-transit services to all locations that were currently serviced.
Prosegur Australia, which pitched itself as the solution to servicing regional towns amid bank closures to the regional banking task force in 2021, did not comment.
Linfox Armaguard also declined to comment.
Cash is essential
In the meantime, fourth-year apprentice butcher Harvey Jopling was just happy he was able to access enough cash to buy his first car.
"I had to go to the post office for seven days straight to pull a grand out each day," Harvey said.
"The ATM is out of cash at least once a week. Every time I go there it's either out of cash or out of order.
"Optus is down at the moment [on January 18], so I've got no service on my phone and I can't check on my phone and see how much money I have.
"If I didn't have any cash on me I can't buy anything."
An Optus spokesperson apologised for the disruption.
"Presently, we are undertaking planned service upgrades, specifically focusing on 5G and transmission capacity improvements at our network sites in Mildura," they said.
"As a result, there may be temporary service disruptions in the surrounding areas."