Exchange Bank’s upgraded Windsor branch: The future of banking?
By Bill Swindell, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
If a teller wanted to have a face-to-face conversation -- without glass in between -- he or she would have to go through security doors akin to the opening credits of "Get Smart." A private conversation would be like a trip to the principal's office.
"We have been banking for so long we don't even realize how uninviting it is," conceded
The
Once you enter, you are greeted by a "universal banker" who can help you with an array of banking services from making a deposit to solving problems with your mobile banking application or opening a credit card. The goal is not to hand the customer from one employee to another for different transactions.
It also features community banking tables, a lounge area, free Wi-Fi, a touchscreen kiosk, a deposit image ATM, and a beverage brewing station with gourmet blend coffee. A kids' table with electronic tablets is on one side, a relief to working moms. At the rear, an outside patio with wooden benches offers a comfortable and relaxing area to sit and have a conversation -- not an interaction -- with one of the branch's nine employees.
Most notable is the "cash bar," which replaces the teller window and the glass barrier. The 8-foot-long, circular standing desk gets rid of the glass, thanks to a vaulted cash recycler machine that replaces the old cash drawer. One customer recently was able to sidle up next to the banker as he filled out on the computer screen an application for a new debit card, allowing her to better understand the process.
"For the most part customers love it. They love the feeling of us being able to roam free, for them not having a barrier of the teller line. They can access their banker," said
While the branch overhaul is key to maintaining good customer services, it's also crucial for independent community banks to survive in a digital banking era where the big four retail banks --
Though
At the same time, the big four banks are increasing their market share. They had approximately 39 percent of the overall nationwide deposits at the end of 2012, outperforming the rest of the industry in deposit share growth, according to a report last year from McKinsey & Co.
The fear among community banks is that the trend will be exacerbated as they meet more expensive compliance standards under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and as bigger banks, with ample financial resources, fully develop their digital offerings to those of a millennial generation who may never set foot into a branch after he or she sets up an account.
"In 10 to 20 years, we will be more like
Plath applauded the move by
Not all agree with such dire predictions. "I think we will see consolidation. I don't think it will be as acute as some believe," said
The advantage that
Founded in 1890,
It serves 48,000 households with approximately 100,000 accounts. Retail operations account for 65 percent of its business, spokesman
Given its longstanding ties to the community, especially funding Doyle scholarships to
"We can't service the people who are jumping off to
Other lending institutions are moving toward the "bank of the future" concept.
"We have found there has been more technology and mobile banking. We see a lot of our members use those, but they still like the touch and feel of a branch," Negri said. "They will come in for complex transactions, or investment services or talk about insurance needs. That's more how we see them using our branches."
Despite the initiative by banks and credit unions to refashion branches, the trend will result in fewer offices as consumers move toward digital banking.
According to the
The decrease comes as technology continues to evolve. One new trend is a video teller where an employee communicates through a
Some banks like
"There has been some success with a virtual bank," Plath said. "But it is a limited market."
Going forward, banks will have to manage the divide between the customers who opt for digital and those who prefer the traditional branch.
"This is a service business. We have to do it all," said
The
"We are trying to be relationship bankers. I want to know about your day. I want to know about your summer plans. It's not my immediate intention to sell you a credit card or open an account, but by building that rapport and gaining that trust, you are going to think of me when you need to get that credit card," said Koop at
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