APRA’s ADI points of presence data collection and publication is a detailed listing of the physical banking service channels provided across Australia by ADIs.

The points of presence publication currently covers four types of service channels: 

• Face-to-face points of presence offering a branch level of service
• Other face-to-face points of presence (including Bank@Post)
• Automatic teller machines (ATMs)
• Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) machines.

A decision to open or close a branch is ultimately a commercial decision for individual banks. The banks operating in Australia have a range of business models, including fully digital banks.

APRA's prudential regulation does not define the number of bank branches in Australia, nor impose particular business models on banks.

However, as digital banking technology advances and the availability of bank branch services declines, APRA wants to continue to improve transparency on this matter, and to ensure the points of presence data collection and publication remains useful and relevant.

Points of presence data were first published in March 2002, reflecting data as at June 2001.

The points of presence publication stemmed from the Commonwealth Government’s response to the recommendations of the October 2000 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration Review of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority: Who will Guard the Guardians?

The recommendation was based on an earlier report from the same Committee, Regional Banking Services: Money too far away, published in March 1999. This report highlighted the gap in information on the delivery of banking services.

Services provided by ADIs and Bank@Post providers are included in the data collection. This does not include services outsourced by ADIs to other service providers, such as ATMs operated by another service provider under agreement with an ADI.

In 2016, following the review of the points of presence data collection, APRA streamlined the data collection. Changes applied from 2017 onwards.

Revisions to the format of the publication and the underlying data collected means data from 2017 onwards is not directly comparable with data from prior years.

Hence, there is a series break between the years 2016 and 2017, and data prior to 2017 is not published in the current database.
 

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘Other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 points of presence.

A face-to-face point of presence must satisfy the following criteria:

1. provide face-to-face services; and
2. maintain a fixed address.

Face-to-face points of presence are categorised as either a branch or another face-to-face points of presence, based on whether or not the point of presence meets APRA’s minimum branch requirements.

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘Other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 points of presence.

For a face-to-face point of presence to be categorised as a branch, the following minimum face-to-face services must all be provided.

A branch:

1. accepts cash and other deposits (including business deposits) and provides change;
2. facilitates the keeping of accounts for customer access, including the provision of account balances;
3. opens and closes accounts;
4. can facilitate or arrange the assessment of the credit risk of existing and potential customers; and
5. offers additional services in the one establishment such as financial services, business banking and specialist lending, if these are generally available from the ADI.

Paragraph (e) does not necessarily mean that a financial adviser or business credit manager is to be available at the branch – the staff of the branch may simply act as a referral point for customers interested in these kinds of services.

Definitions of ‘branch’ and ‘other face-to-face’ points of presence can be found in the APRA Reporting Standard 796.0 points of presence.

A point of presence that satisfies the criteria to be a face-to-face point of presence but does not provide all of the minimum face-to-face services to be categorised as a branch will fall into the category of other face-to-face point of presence.

Examples of other face-to-face points of presence include but are not limited to agencies, head offices, mini-branches etc. This category includes Bank@Post points of presence.

APRA updates the points of presence data collection and publication on a yearly basis.

When preparing the points of presence publication, APRA undertakes a quality review process. Where errors are identified, APRA engages with the entity directly to correct the error for the next publication.

Classification depends on whether the location meets the minimum service requirements for a branch set out in ARS 796.0, and whether those services are available to customers in practice.

A cashless location cannot be classified as a branch, as accepting cash is one of the minimum service requirements to be classified as a branch.

Tellerless or ‘smart store’ locations may be classified as a branch where:

• customers at the location are able to access all five services specified in the definition of ‘branch’ in ARS 796; and
• on-site staff are available to provide all five services in person face to face to customers (except for the carve out at (e) that allows the provision of a referral elsewhere for additional services).

In such cases, the use of an ATM to deliver cash services may be reasonable where staff are available on-site to support customers in accessing those services. Whether a particular arrangement (for example, involving an ATM and a concierge or similar staff member) meets the definition of a branch will depend on the specific circumstances of the location, including the range of services provided and the extent to which staff can support customers face-to-face.

If an ADI is uncertain whether a particular arrangement meets the definition, it is encouraged to discuss the circumstances with its APRA supervisor.

Guidance can be found on APRA's website at: Guidance on points of presence reporting for co‑located face‑to‑face service channels