Residents living in Esquimalt are expressing concern in the future of their community as yet another business leaves the township.
On Thursday, January 5th, the RBC on Esquimalt road shut its doors for good—now only a few ATMs remain.
In a recent Facebook post, Esquimalt resident Marilyn Day expressed her concerns over the branch’s closure, saying “Our township is bankless!”
Other Esquimalt residents including Deborah McMahon shared their opinions, “There are less and less advantages to living in Esquimalt. They want us to go outside Esquimalt for necessities and entertainment. They are taking most of it away.”
“Soon there will be nothing left. They are building more and more apartments and condos but there isn’t even a family restaurant.”
With no current plans of introducing a bank in Esquimalt, as of right now, Esquimalt Mayor, Barb Desjardins tells Victoria Buzz that the departure of the RBC branch will significantly impact local residents and businesses.
“This will be very inconvenient for many seniors and businesses that go into the bank to make deposits and adjustments to their accounts. The reality of transiting to either Uptown or downtown Victoria will add a significant challenge, particularly for seniors who are living independently.
As many locals now have to commute out of town to the nearest bank, one local business has chosen to adapt to the times, transitioning to debit and credit payment options for the first time in 30 years.
On Facebook, Cam and Hong’s son, Loc shared, “we have tried to stay cash only for as long as possible but with RBC closing next door, we had to find a way to allow all of our customers to be able to shop with us,” said Loc.
For the time being, residents will need to commute 16 minutes out of town to the nearest RBC branch in Belmont Park or seven minutes to the CIBC on Tillicum Road.
