The only bank on the University of New Brunswick’s Fredericton campus is shutting its doors this spring and students are not happy with the decision.
The Bank of Montreal announced in a notice to clients this week that it will be permanently closing the university campus branch on March 22. The location at 29 Dineen Drive is situated next to the UNB bookstore and campus pharmacy.
The change means customers, primarily students and university faculty, will have to go to the nearest branch on Prospect Street in uptown Fredericton.
“We are closing this branch and directing our customers to another one so that we can provide a wider range of financial services to meet our clients’ needs,” BMO spokesperson Valérie Doucet wrote in email to The Brunswickan.
BMO currently operates nearly every ATM throughout the UNB and St. Thomas University campuses.
Doucet said the bank plans to leave its full network of bank machines behind.
“We are currently looking into finding more optimal location(s) on campus and are open to suggestions on those locations,” she said.
Kevish Ramasawmy, a first year UNB student, said he chose to bank with BMO since it was conveniently located on campus.
“I feel that it will really deteriorate the experience for all UNB students and even St. Thomas [students],” he said of the closure.
Ramasawmy said he is considering switching to Scotiabank. As a student from Mauritius, he said he often went into the branch to ask for information regarding international money transfers.
An upper year UNB student who declined to provide his name, said he switched from TD Bank and CIBC to BMO for the convenience of having a bank on campus. He is contemplating going back to his original financial institutions in light of this announcement.