NZCU South yesterday announced the closure of its Lawrence branch - which opened each Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - and the redundancy of the bank's three employees.
The news came as a shock to residents, particularly business owners and operators now faced with a trip to Milton or Balclutha for cash banking.
"It was a bolt out of the blue - a shock to everyone. Nobody expected it," Lawrence Tuapeka Community Board chairman Geoff Davidson said.
Worst affected would be elderly residents without internet or transport.
Lawrence bank staff were upset when told late on Tuesday of the September 7 closure.
NZCU South chief executive Andrew Leys said the company had "tried its darnedest" to make it work and he was proud of the effort staff had put in.
"The market has changed dramatically, in the last four years in particular, and it's incredibly difficult to maintain services in those communities. Realistically, it's probably a credit to NZCU South that we've been able to make it work for so long, and we can't stick our heads in the sand in terms of direction in the market and how things are going," he said.
Branches in Hokitika and Westport will also close and two branches will be merged into one in both Christchurch and Invercargill.
Jan Harper, of Bluespur Butchery, said it was a sad day for the township. She would miss the "friendly and helpful" bank staff next door.
Ms Harper said Lawrence was about to be linked with the Otago Central Rail Trail and residents "lived in hope about a turn-around" through increased visitors, but losing the town's only bank was a hindrance to development.
Fellow business operator Robyn Stronach said the closure was a step back to when the Bank of New Zealand closed its Lawrence branch in the late 1980s, leaving the town without a bank.
Residents rallied for a couple of years to get a bank, and were thrilled when NZCU South opened its branch 22 years ago - "now we are back to square one." Dealing with cash would be a "nightmare" for businesses, while Lawrence community clubs and other account holders would be inconvenienced also.
Tuapeka Gold Print co-owner Jim Robertson bemoaned the loss of an ATM in the town, but said the bank's closure was a sign of the times.
