Booval Amalgamation FAQs
Queenslanders Credit Union recently announced that we will amalgamate our Booval Fair and Booval (South Station Rd) branches. The Booval Fair branch will operate as normal until Friday 23rd September, with the South Station Rd premises the ongoing location for our Booval branch from Saturday 24th September.
Our decision to merge the two branches has been made after a review of our Ipswich operations indicated that a high number of Booval based members alternate between the South Station Road and Booval Fair branches, which are only 250 meters apart. The cost of maintaining and staffing two branches with such a close proximity to each other is quite significant and, given the need for small financial institutions like Queenslanders to closely monitor our costs, it has been decided that amalgamating the two premises is the best option for our organisation.
As a community owned and operated financial institution, Queenslanders Credit Union remains totally committed to the Ipswich community, with our remaining branches at Brassall and Yamanto being unaffected by this change. In addition, you will continue to be able to access the money held in your accounts through a number of rediATMs at the Booval Fair Shopping Centre.
There are some important things about this decision which you, as members, will want to know. To help you understand the change we have made and how it affects you, we’ve put together the following ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs). While the FAQs are designed to answer the questions we expect from you as best we can, please feel free to call us on 1800 QLDERS if you would like to talk about specific aspects of the amalgamation.
The lease on our Booval Fair premises will expire on 23rd September. As is the case when the lease expires on each of our branches, Queenslanders has a process of assessing whether it is in the best interests of our members to extend the lease for a further period.
Our analysis on this occasion indicated that a high number of our Booval members alternate between the Booval Fair and South Station Road branches when conducting their day-to-day banking, and that maintaining two branches within 250 meters of each other was incurring a significant cost that could, in turn, be channelled into providing better products and services for all our members.
In order to see out the current lease but still provide more than reasonable time for members and staff to prepare for the amalgamation, we have decided to announce the amalgamation now. This enables us to meet our contractual requirements to the owners of Booval Fair and gives everyone involved just on three full months to get used to the amalgamation.
As the former head office of Discovery Credit Union, Queenslanders owns the South Station Road branch. As such, choosing it as the location of our ongoing branch in Booval is much more cost effective than continuing to lease premises for our Booval operations.
Staying in Booval is the right thing to do for a number of very good reasons. As always, doing the best by members is what underpins our decisions but we also have an excellent opportunity to remain and prosper in Booval through our existing Station Road, Booval premises.
So with this amalgamation we retain a branch close to our existing members and we make much better use of a location that for many years was the head office of the former Discovery Credit Union.
Yes. While we will no longer have a branch at Booval Fair, the centre will still have a number of rediATMs that members can use to make their regular withdrawals.
As you would be aware, using the rediATM network (even ATMs that are owned by Bank of Queensland or the National Australia Bank and co-badged with the rediATM logo) will ensure you are not charged an ATM direct-charge fee by the ATM owner.
The amalgamation provides some significant economies of scale to the local members and the local community. By retaining a significant presence in Booval through our full service branch less than 300 metres down South Station Road we maintain our strong presence in the local community.
In addition, we have also renewed our commitment to the Ipswich community through recent facelifts at our Brassall and Yamanto branches. Both of these branches are well established and staffed by great local staff who look forward to many more years serving the community. You probably already know but many of our staff are heavily involved in the local community through a wide range of sporting and other groups.
Both the Yamanto branch at the Winston Glades Shopping Centre and the Brassall branch at the Brassall Shopping Centre have fully trained staff that can assist you with all your financial needs. Our research shows that a number of our Booval members have already discovered the convenience of these alternative branch locations and have started to use them more and more.
Click here for details of the locations of our other branches, both in the Ipswich area and in Brisbane.
Likewise, click the icon below to find out the location of your nearest rediATM.
In addition to our Ipswich based branch network you’ll probably see the Queenslanders name come up through our many community sponsorships and partnerships. We’re a big supporter of the local community through our ongoing support of groups and associations and particularly the Ipswich Junior Rugby League.
We are embarking on some exciting projects at the moment to ensure we offer banking services that are attractive to not only our existing members but also potential new members e.g. mobile phone banking and electronic statements.
Some of the savings will be used to fund these improved services for our existing and new members but we assure you that any of the savings made will be managed and invested in a way which contributes to the growth, sustainability and long term benefit of the Credit Union and its members.
Whilst we cannot disclose individual arrangements, there have been no forced redundancies. In fact our staff have been offered roles in the existing branch network so depending on what the Booval Fair staff wish to do you just might see them from time to time at a branch near you.
It is no surprise that Ipswich is seen as a region with lots of potential and plenty happening now and through its plans for the future. Queenslanders Credit Union wants to be part of the Ipswich community and we remain vigilant for opportunities to make the biggest and most beneficial contribution we can.
Our presence in Ipswich remains a key part of our promise to deliver Banking that’s Personal, so expect to continue seeing us actively manage our branch network to remain relevant in this community.
Our team are always getting plenty of praise for their service and for the great products they make available to our great members. At Queenslanders there is never a shortage of positive comments from our members and the feedback doesn’t just come from one branch it comes from all of our branches and our phone based service teams as well.
We’re extremely confident you will continue to get great service and we think that you will notice our continued efforts to develop and improve better products for you; our members! In some ways amalgamating the Booval branches will put us in a better position to be able to serve you.
Click here to read for yourself just a snippet of the great feedback we get all the time here at Queenslanders Credit Union.
Because we understand that this might be a big change for some members and they may want to discuss it with Queenslanders management, we think it’s important to provide ready access to someone who can explain the reasons for amalgamating the Booval branches.
To assist members with concerns that the staff cannot address, Therese Devin, our SEQ Branch Network Manager, will be on hand at Booval Fair to speak with members throughout the duration of the amalgamation and beyond. Therese also has access to other management staff on whom she can call should the need arise.