Cupar people frustrated as only bank in town set to close

People in the town of Cupar are wondering what they’re going to do now after the only bank in town announced it’s closing.

The Conexus Credit Union is closing nine branches in Saskatchewan, seven of which are in small towns and villages like Cupar.

Mayor Steve Boha said it’s a big blow to the community, which is an hour northeast of Regina. He said a lot of people banked with Conexus.

“Rural Saskatchewan, we support what we have, right? Because we need it,” he said. “But apparently they don’t think the same way.”

In a media release, Conexus said it’s closing the branches to adapt to digital changes in the industry, but that doesn’t make sense to Boha. He explained that about half of the 600 people in Cupar are seniors.

“They don’t all have smartphones and all that other stuff. They’re still in the generation where you want to see the money,” he said. “They go into the credit union and they cash their pension cheque, then they go around and pay their bills.”

Boha said the bank was often busy. He asked what businesses in the town are going to do now with their deposits.

The move is especially perplexing to Boha, considering the Co-op in the town just put in a massive new ag centre. He said with a business like that in the community, you’d think everything else would fall into place, or at least stay in place.

“I just cannot see the reasoning, because this isn’t the city where everyone is on a smartphone; we’re in rural Saskatchewan,” said Boha.

People in the town are frustrated. They found out on Friday and Boha said a farmer came to see him right away, unhappy and asking what was going on, saying it was really going to put a crimp in his farming operation.

The next closest bank to Cupar is in Southey, about 20 kilometres west. Boha said he has been told the Conexus in Southey is being expanded to accommodate more customers.

But Boha said he thinks people are upset enough that many will move their money and do their banking elsewhere.

Boha has meetings scheduled with other banks to entice them to set up shop in Cupar.