A woman and her young son sought safe haven inside a newsagency as a man allegedly robbed a nearby bank in an Auckland mall on Saturday.

A Magazine City & Lotto employee said the incident unfolded at ASB and they noticed something was wrong when security began rushing to the bank.

They said a mother had brought her son into the store to calm him down.

"The kid was terrified," they said.

"She [the mother] wanted just a couple of seconds to come in just to make him feel okay and then she left."

A police spokesperson said they were notified just before 11.30am.

No one was injured.

Yesterday, police were making inquiries to locate the man, and as of this morning no arrests had been made.

The man allegedly threatened staff and took money from the bank.

Talking to the Herald, another worker at Glenfield Mall claimed the robber was armed with a butcher's knife.

"The man was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, with bank staff telling him to take it off before he made his way to the front counter.

"He then stood behind a woman with his arm around her neck and holding a knife, which led to money being handed over."

The mall worker said the robber's clothes were found in a nearby park and that it wasn't apparent anything had happened inside the bank as it was quiet and police were in casual clothes.

"All the banks were closed. The only bank with doors open was ANZ as they have a separate security system from the other banks. The others automatically shut down when the banks inside the mall release the alarm."