Northern Credit Union is consolidating seven branches into larger locations as digital and other online solutions prove popular with customers.
The company has an office, which remains open, at 525 Main St E, in North Bay.
As of May 3, the Coniston, Elmwood, Iron Bridge, Petawawa, Second Line branches, which were temporarily closed during the pandemic, will be formally integrated into larger nearby branches. The Little Current and Richards Landing branches will also be consolidated into larger nearby branches as of June 1.
“Over the past decade, credit unions and other financial institutions focused on opening more branches,".said President Richard Adam. "Today, most are decreasing their physical footprints because of the emergence of additional banking solutions, most notably online and digital tools."
Adam says the decision will help support the "continued long-term financial viability of our organization."
"We must ensure the ability to meet the changing needs of our members and deliver on the community-based projects we remain committed to supporting in the areas that we serve in our northern communities. We have always been proud of our northern roots, which remain firmly planted.”
Customers are increasingly using digital and remote banking services, two to three times more often than they use in-branch services.
Other than cash transactions all banking including account set up and inquiries, bank transfers, investments, loans, lines of credits, and mortgages, at Northern Credit Union can all be done using Northern Credit Union’s online and telephone services.
The ease and convenience of transacting business, without the need to come into a branch, have become so popular that traffic to some branch locations has significantly reduced, providing a strong business case for consolidating some of the smaller branches.
At present, Northern Credit Union employs 260 people across its 31 branches and corporate office locations.
Northern Credit Union is a financial institution to more than 70,000 member shareholders serving 31 Ontario communities.
