P.E.I. customers disappointed to hear 3 Scotiabank branches closing
Some Scotiabank customers on P.E.I. are raising concerns about plans to close the Crapaud, Kensington and O'Leary branches and move their accounts to Summerside.
"With customer preferences changing, and more day-to-day banking being done online, we are continuing to evolve how we serve our customers and invest in areas that make it easier for our customers to bank with us from wherever they are," Scotiabank said in a statement to CBC News.
In Crapaud, however, people said this change will make things much harder, not easier.
Scotiabank is the only bank with a physical presence in the community. On Thursday morning, the branch's parking lot was nearly full as people waited for it to open.
Local resident Grace Williams said she has been using this bank for 30 years, going about once a week.
But according to the "We're moving" sign on the front door, that will all stop on December 13.
"I don't think it's a good idea," said Williams.
Robert Cairns of Lady Fane, about 10 minutes away from Crapaud, said the closure of the branch will make it harder for him to bank. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC)
The sign says the accounts will be automatically transferred to Summerside, which means people like Williams will have to drive about 30 minutes for in-person banking.
"It's too much travelling ... especially for seniors, that don't like to travel in the winter time," she said. "I don't like travel in the wintertime."
'A little upsetting'
Robert Cairns is also disappointed by the news. He lives about 10 minutes away in Lady Fane but has done his banking in Crapaud for the last 40 years.
"I'm usually in here at least once a week, so it's going to make it difficult, if I'm not working in Summerside or Charlottetown, to get to the bank," he said.
The Scotiabank in Crapaud is relocating to Summerside on December 13. (Sheehan Desjardins/CBC News)
Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley said he was caught off guard when he heard his town's Scotiabank is closing too.
"It's a little upsetting, actually, to be honest with you," he said.
"It was probably sometime last year that I got the call ... telling me about it and my response to him was, 'Well, I don't suspect you're expecting me to be very pleased with that?'"
'Important to have a location'
The Town of Kensington does its banking with Scotiabank, but Caseley said town officials weren't consulted before the decision was made and still don't know when the branch will shut. According to Scotiabank, it will be sharing more details with Kensington customers in the coming weeks.
"I guess it gets troublesome," said Caseley. "Everything always seems to be going to the main central areas and the rural areas seem to be forgotten.
'It's unfortunate,' says Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley. 'There's nothing, nothing we can do.' (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
"I still think it's important to have a location, have a building, have a spot where people can go to. We still need to be able to go to the bank and talk to people."
In O'Leary, some customers said they too received noticed that their Scotiabank accounts will be transferred to Summerside, but not until November 2024.
"Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I still like to be able to go to a branch. I like to be able to speak to a teller. I don't want to have to do my banking all online or on the phone," said Derrek McCormick, who has banked with Scotiabank for decades.
"With the price of gas what it is, nobody wants to drive an hour and a half round trip to do their banking once or twice a week."
McCormick said he plans to leave Scotiabank altogether and open an account with the Provincial Credit Union branch in O'Leary.
"If you're not going to do business in our community, we're not going to do business with you at all," he said. "I have no interest in driving that far to do that when I should be able to just drive five minutes down the road."
In its statement to CBC News, Scotiabank said the branch in Summerside will itself be relocating to a nearby location in late 2024. No further details were given.
