The Future of Bank's Branches

Our bank’s branch transformation is already in progress. This began with modernizing our branch technology, but also in many branches, by adding more advisory personnel to improve the client experience. As an example, we recently replaced our teller system, equipping every single branch with new equipment providing a more modern experience for our team. This has translated to a better long term experience for our clients. Tellers can now focus less on managing the technology and instead focus on their clients, have more meaningful conversations and uncover new ways to serve them.

Beyond the changes we’ve already made, we continuously think about the future. For instance, we’re considering the idea that future branches should likely be smaller, designed less around serving transactional needs and more around facilitating conversations we need to have with our clients to help them build financial confidence. To continue meeting the unique needs of each client who visits a branch, we’ll need the balance of technology-assisted experience delivered through an service model focused on the expertise of our branch employees.

The most important consideration to make when thinking about the branch of the future is integration. We know that our clients want access to their finances from multiple channels. Technology is allowing us to bridge our branches, client contact center and digital channels to provide a seamless experience for our clients, which we call the omnichannel. Omnichannel is less about the channel, less about the product a client is using and more about the client journey. Because today, a client might be using an app to transfer funds, but tomorrow, they might want to visit a branch to discuss a loan. Since branch visits are becoming less about transactions and more about interactions, we have to engage them differently in our branches.

While we continue to work on delivering for our clients in the near term, we must also keep our heads up– assessing emerging trends, considering what our clients will need years from now, and painting a picture of what the future looks like for our business. We have employees who are fully dedicated to helping us innovate using test and learn studies, pilots, labs, incubators and other tools so we can stay ahead of our clients’ changing preferences.

As we look at the future of branches, what is most important is ensuring we keep our clients at the center of every decision we make. Technology, design, staffing-we have to have a client-centric approach to stay relevant. Everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve financial confidence and it is our responsibility to help them achieve this through a personalized, seamless and convenient experience.