Scotiabank is axing operations in Nackawic, New Brunswick, as part of a larger trend that’s putting many branches in rural Atlantic Canadian communities on the chopping block.
"We received a phone call from Scotiabank in Halifax notifying us of the change,” said Tim Fox, mayor of Nackawic-Milville. “What the changes are going to be in June and at the time I asked if the decision is final and it was.”
Some seniors who don't bank online are worried.
"I think they're going to have a heavy reliance on someone who does,” Fox said. “That takes trust and it's a difficult decision for somebody who is in that position to be reliant on somebody else to help with their banking.”
The municipality of roughly 4,000 people has a high population of seniors.
"We don't have a computer, sorry, we just don't, we're seniors and it's pretty sad,” said Nackawic resident Diane Grant. “We've been dealing with this bank for 42 years.”
With a growing community, including a new 200-unit development, many residents said they wish Scotiabank would have spoken with them first before making their decision
"It'd be an inconvenience not only for me but for many people,” said Joeseph Brockzkowski, who lives in Nackawic. “A lot of seniors here, they just don't have the mobility and the opportunity if the bank leaves.”
With the branch being moved more than 60 kilometres away to Fredericton, for seniors to travel out of the community to pay their bills will come with an added cost.
"I'll probably either have to go to Woodstock or Fredericton and that's just extra gas for that and it's hard,” Grant said.
Both Nackawic and Petitcodiac's Scotiabank branches are set to be axed in June 2024.
