Kiwibank has confirmed it wants to open a stand-alone branch in Dunedin's central business district - and says it is consulting with staff on the future of four existing sites in the city.
All of the bank's current branches in Dunedin share sites with NZ Post, which according to E Tu union is planning to close its Dunedin North branch in Great King St and its South Dunedin branch in King Edward St.
A Kiwibank spokeswoman said today the bank was consulting with its staff in four branches, North Dunedin on Great King St, South Dunedin on King Edward St, Moray Place and Mosgiel.
The bank also has two other branches, in Green Island and on North Rd at the Gardens shopping centre, which were not mentioned.
The future of Kiwibank in the city "had not been confirmed''.
However the bank did intend to open a stand-alone branch somewhere in Dunedin's CBD.
More detailed information on Kiwibank's plans was not available.
"This is a model we first introduced back in 2016, and it has received great customer feedback from the branches we have opened so far,'' the spokeswoman said.
"Impact to staff . . . won't be known until closer to the time of the actual changes taking place, which could be many months from now.
"We will keep the community informed as we know.''
Kiwibank planning to close two branches
E Tu organiser Mike Kirwood said NZ Post was looking at shutting its post shops at the Dunedin North NZ Post and Kiwibank in Great King St, and the South Dunedin NZ Post and Kiwibank in King Edward St.
Mr Kirwood said staff had been informed and a 28-day consultation period began last Tuesday, after which the company intended to seek a partner to host its postal outlets.
"What they call substitution, where they'll put a store up for franchise,'' he said.
While the process was not yet a "done deal'', and NZ Post had yet to find franchise partners, he expected there would be redundancies among staff at the post shops.
The same process was begun last year in Alexandra, and the town's post office operations were moved to a Paper Plus shop earlier this year.
It was unclear how Kiwibank operations at the two city sites would be affected by the changes.
Mr Kirwood understood a new "stand-alone'' Kiwibank was being proposed for the Dunedin CBD.
NZ Post general manager of channels and distribution Janet Selwood said in a statement the company had "entered into consultation with the NZ Post people who operate the box lobbies''.
"What I can say is that NZ Post is committed to staying in Dunedin, and providing these particular communities with postal outlets where people can send parcels, buy stamps and post letters.''
Ms Selwood said the company already worked "successfully with local businesses who provide postal services for us''.
"One such example already operating is Dunedin Paper Plus in George St.
"It also allows us to maintain our involvement in local communities, supporting their needs while managing our overheads.''
