Scotiabank will be closing its Black River Branch next February as well as its Old Harbour Branch a few months later in April 2021. The Black River branch operations will be consolidated into its Santa Cruz branch, while Old Harbour will be streamlined into the May Pen branch.

Additionally, six branches- Christiana, Falmouth, Portmore, Port Antonio, Port Maria and St. Ann’s Bay, will be converted to Scotia’s digital operating model by January.

Scotiabank made the announcements on Tuesday, saying the changes will better align its organizational structure with current revenues as well as the shift in customer preferences.

What happened?

The Bank says the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated shifts in consumer behaviour, with branch traffic in some locations falling by as much as 50% as customers continue to bank online.

As at September 2020, Scotia says branch transactions were less than 6% of total transactions. Online and mobile transactions accounted for over 30%; and ABM and point of sale make up the remaining 64%.

Is there a future for inline banking?

At least one other large Bank, NCB, has been on a drive to have more cashless branches, with cash transactions facilitated exclusively via 24/7 channels like ABMs and drop boxes.

NCB also says new norms like physical distancing, and the demand for more digital channels catalyzed the changes.

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