In the past few years there has been an avalanche of bank closures, including 16 in regional SA since 2020.
But there is some hope that the days of face to face banking are not over with Bendigo Bank's community bank model -which recently celebrated 25 years- stepping in to provide some of these services in smaller towns.
Earlier in the year the Robe & Districts branch set up a visiting office in Beachport and last week the Keith & Districts Community Bank opened an office in Meningie next door to the Visitor Information Centre which it will staff every Wednesday.
Coorong District Council mayor Paul Simmons says they approached the community bank after the closure of Bank SA in Tailem Bend left no bank in its council area.
"We are in a transition phase to a cashless society but it is the next level up of services that they can offer with accounts or loans- one of the big ones for community groups is to change signatories," he said.
"We also should not forget that some people can't travel to the next town because they may not have a car or a licence."
Mr Simmons encouraged residents to consider Bendigo Bank's services.
"People will make their own commercial decisions who they bank but with a percentage of the profits are returned to the community will be quite persuasive to many," he said.
Keith & Districts Community Bank branch manager Fiona Wilkinson said they had been looking to expand their footprint and with the support of the council had been drawn to Meningie.
There will be no cash transactions available with Australia Post already offering the service in town but Ms Wilkinson says they are available to discuss a wide range of banking from home and personal loans to agribusiness to financial planning and insurance.
"We have found that banking is all about relationships and opening hours and face to face services- that has been our strength," she said.
"We have a diverse book (at Keith) looking at agribusiness, business banking, consumer lending and investments and we believe we can match that here in Meningie."
Since the Keith & Districts branch opened in March 2014 it has put $500,000 back to the community in sponsorship and grants. This includes supporting youth driver education and local schools' agriculture show teams.
Mid Murray Council mayor Simone Bailey would like to see a similar service replicated in Mannum.
In December Bank SA closed its doors and even took its ATM just as floodwaters were rising.
She says when the ANZ Bank closed a few years earlier a group of concerned community members investigated the potential of a community bank which didn't get anywhere. She hopes this push, which would have the strong back of council, will be revived.
"We are 6000 square kilometres and 17 towns and we don't have a single bank," she said.
She says local businesses have had to keep more cash on hand and even trade change with each other. During the "cost of living crisis" she says it is important that people have someone to talk to in person if they are struggling to meet loan re-payments.
Member for Barker Tony Pasin says the community bank model offers some level of service and commends those who have taken the initiative, but in most locations across his electorate he says it is simply not enough to have a "pop up shop".
He wants other banks to follow CBA's recent commitment of keeping all of its regional branches open until at least the end of 2026 and for those branches closed in the past five years to be re-opened.
"In a period of record profitability for the Australian banking sector, the decision to withdraw services from regional Australia is not only wrong, its unacceptable," he said.
"Face to face banking services add to the vibrancy of regional towns providing important services to those unable or unwilling to use digital or phone services and to our many volunteer community organisations who are required to handle cash."
