Tellers, cashiers, loan officers: Who needs em?
Banks do need those services of course, but do those services have to be in every location?
Will video teleconferencing suffice?
Please consider Bank of America Testing ‘Completely Automated’ Branches.
Bank of America is testing “completely automated” branches, its latest push into self-service as CEO Brian Moynihan seeks to further lower costs at the Charlotte-based company, an executive said Tuesday.
Dean Athanasia, co-head of consumer banking, disclosed the new branches at a financial services forum in Florida, during a discussion on Bank of America’s efforts to cut expenses and improve efficiencies.
The bank is testing three such branches in Denver, Colo., and Minneapolis, spokeswoman Anne Pace told the Observer. Smaller than a traditional branch, they feature automated teller machines and video-conferencing technology so customers can talk to off-site bankers, Pace said. The branches are also staffed with an on-site banker in case customers need assistance, she said.
Bank of America is assessing how much time the branches, roughly a quarter the size of a typical branch, need to be staffed with an on-site banker or if a banker is needed at all, she said. “These centers offer our clients expanded access to our capabilities and expertise,” Pace said.
As a security measure, video-conferencing rooms will only be accessed with an ATM card or debit card from Bank of America or other banks, she added.
This is a big deal. I occasionally go into a local Harris/BMO bank. It typically has 3 people behind the counter and another 2-3 bank officers in offices.
In the above scenario, those 5-6 people get compressed to 1-2. And if they get rid of all the loan officers, the savings is even greater.
Such changes will not happen overnight, but they are coming.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Almost all banks allow you to bypass the ‘loan officer’ and apply directly from their web site. I suspect these are also ‘sales positions’ where loan officers are expected to reach out to customers and ‘sell’ loans. So to some degree these people might be self-financing….
One issue I have is ATMs. Since many banks charge you for using a non-branch/brand ATM and at the same time the non-bank ATM charges you, you’re hit twice. An advantage to a huge bank like BoA is lots and lots of branches. I use a credit union which allows many non-name ATMs to be used for free (say at CVS, 7-11, many small gas stations) and the few times I want a person I just hit the CU at work.
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So lon jobs to automation robotization and artificial intelligence Mike
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Loan officers might as well be robots. They already follow the same universal hivemind script… unlike in former times when loan officers personally evaluated everyone individually.
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Etrade repays any atm fees
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Etrade bank refunds fees for ATM use at other banks.
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Nice. First no people, then no money. I approve!
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Love it!
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Hard not to agree this is where employment is headed. Or more to the point, loss of employment. Driverlesss cars, driverless trucks and buses, driverless taxis, peopleless banks, warehouses and supermarkets et al. People are going to have so much free time they’ll be taking summer cruises en masse to Alask or the Antarctic. Oh that’s right you need a bit of folding to do that. Perhaps some generous soul will transfer a few of their bitcoins into your bitwallet….or perhaps not. Society will struggle with this seachange.
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I’m rather optimistic that humans can adapt and will find other employment opportunities.
Have faith.
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Faith doesn’t pay the bills.
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And once we go “cashless”, there won’t be any branches or ATM’s at all.
The banks will have your “money” and be able to “pay” you NEGATIVE interest and charge you fees galore for everything.
And there won’t be a damn thing you will be able to do about it.
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I pay for just about everything under $100 in cash. There is no need for Uncle Sam and his bank overlords to know all my activities. When they ban cash, I’ll move to another country. Thinking about doing it anyway.
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A simple solution for most individual banking issues:
Join a credit union, or two.
Better interest rates (in your favor), lower fees (if any fee at all) and a larger ATM network (you can use any credit union’s atm.)
I switched over 20 years ago and would NEVER go back. I hear the horror stories about banks.
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One day America will have to decide who pays taxes. Current thinking (by some at least) is that Companies should not be taxed but individuals should. Employing no one seems to present a bit of a problem. Does someone have a solution?
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Tariffs and land taxes are the only two that make any sense from efficiency, privacy and fairness POWs. Both are fully anonymous currency compatible, as well non intrusive. Anything else are just excuses for arbitrary harassment, meddling and control.
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You’ll probably have to let an older generation die off before this really gets anywhere. You’ll also have some owners of local businesses who need a million or two on occasion expect to talk to a real grown-up.
But it will work fine for the vast majority.
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Just as incredible is the WASTE of excess real estate used by all the major banks, BA,WF,Citi etc. ..Every branch has 6 or more teller windows and its rare I have ever seen more than 2 or 3 tellers working at any time. The bank branches could all be 1/3 the size , but I guess their managements think they have to be “big in footprint” to make people believe their money is safe.
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That’s because customers are at credit unions.
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If there is cash in the ATM machines, they will need guards, at least.
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Why? I think it’s rare for an ATM to have a guard.
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Mish, your bank and mine, BMO Harris rolled out a “smart branch” last year (6556 N. Sheridan) using video hookups to a remote teller center somewhere in place of onsite teller windows and personnel. The intention seemed straight forward enough–that is from just a cost standpoint anyway. Why pay two people who might be 50% engaged with customer transactions at branches and sitting around the other 50% recounting the cash drawer or whatever when you can pay just one person in a central location who is 100% occupied with customer transactions? Seems simple enough, eh, Mish?
Problem is, the customer service side of the transaction has to be appropriate too. The system there was kludgy and impersonal, with communication lapses (remember the one guy is probably trying to juggle more than one customer while the other is endorsing his check or whatever), an awkward mechanical process, such as having to hold up things to a camera for review, inserting, reviewing again onscreen, having to talk to some Max Headroom guy on a video screen whose attention was obviously divided. What would have taken 2 minutes at a real teller window, took well more than 5, maybe closer to 10, and I’m tech savvy! Some little old lady customer there asked the manager if this was just to eliminate someone’s job. He said no, but we all knew that it was. It was such a bad service experience however that I never went back, opting to walk to another branch to deposit checks, get withdrawals in specific denominations, etc.
I’m a big proponent of tech when it comes to streamlining the process and/or otherwise IMPROVING the service experience, but businesses better beware of keeping the whole value proposition in sight, not just the cost-efficiency aspect of it. Just wait till they move the teller service center to India to save a couple more bucks. That’ll really piss everyone off.
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BOA converted some driveups to camera-based ATM’s about a year ago. So you speak to a teller through the “window” like you always did, but that teller could be in the attached building or hundreds of miles away. The advantage is you aren’t confined to driveup hours to get drive-up service. While there may be some labor savings in such a setup, it’s more of an increase in customer service.
I’ll also point out that the Indiana Toll Road implemented something similar at least 5 years ago. In some areas all the tollbooths are unmanned and if you need assistance you press a button and someone miles away sees you via camera and helps you with your problem. Granted, such a setup introduces different problems which only government agencies could get away with, but at least it is one example of a government trying to control its costs.
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I should point out that prior to BOA implementing this, their driveup windows were understaffed. There used to be one teller per driveup station, and they reduced it such that one teller had to cover two stations – I’m sure a time and motion study pointed out the idle time while a customer fiddles with his cash, puts his wallet away, rolls up the window, drives away, the next driver pulls in, rolls down the window, signs his check, etc. The BOA ATM thing is just a logical extension of that time and motion study.
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Regarding your comment about value proposition, the fact is that since the 2007 crash, banks have been insulated from competition such that a customer has far fewer options than they should have. So government let the banks grab you by the short hairs and your limited options are just as likely to implement the same crappy service.
The worst part about Dodd-Frank is that it is preventing new banks from being established. In the long run that introduces instability into the system.
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Also, I think the banks kind of expect a few customers to take their business elsewhere, but the extra expense of Obamacare just isn’t worth hanging on to a small percentage of high-maintenance/low-profit customers
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The first major benefit will be 24/7 service. Degradation of service does not matter for people that want to do banking activities at 10pm.
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Nothing to see here. Just banks accepting new technology that will improve their bottom line.
Will “job losses” result? YES.
Will some move to banks that have a “personal and human touch”? YES.
Will those new jobs make up for the loses? NO
Technology is by its very nature DEFLATIONARY.
One cannot stop technology from advancing. Thus, one must hop on first to control it via patents, copyrights, and ‘secrets’.
Countries like China which have “command economies” have an advantage here against those who just let things happen like the U.S.
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So now “Command Economies” have an advantage…….. The stuff people can be suckered into believing if it suits their rulers/”educators.”
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From my point of view right now the banking industry has a dim future.
I am having an issue with a bank’s internet security code. Bottom-line… I can’t access my account info via internet. The bank doesn’t offer automated phone access, they stopped sending paper account notices last year and the human beings at the bank couldn’t care less.
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Meanwhile, a GOP replacement of Obamacare might include doing away with the tax-exemption for employee health care premiums. In other words, raise taxes on employees who have company health insurance to help pay for it.
” One tempting solution for Republicans, big business worries, is to limit the exemption from income and payroll taxes that job-based coverage has enjoyed for decades. Taxing workers and employers for health benefits could raise billions to pay for a replacement plan. ”
http://khn.org/news/employers-fret-job-based-coverage-vulnerable-to-fallout-from-gop-health-overhaul/
.
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No offense to anyone here, but after reading this, all I could think was “Way to Go, BoA. Megalenders/Banks like this doing more and more to alienate their customers.” Not only are most tbtf institutions a quagmire of red tape that you need a lawyer to navigate through, now you won’t have the luxury of a soul to talk to in person who could help you in office. I might be looking at this pessimistically, but I don’t see good things happening with this concept. Also, if I want teleconferencing, I’d do it from my home computer where I can at least have the illusion of privacy. By all means, soup up the ATM with more bells and whistles, but when there is problems, you need to be able to speak to a person who knows whats going on. Some things might not be fixable via long distance teleconference and, wouldn’t you know it, but the customer might just need it fixed immediately or it could impact his business, personal accounts, etc. See where I’m going with this?
I don’t doubt this will be the norm eventually. I’m sorry, but Imo, it just doesn’t speak of high regards to the people/customers that make up the supporting foundation of their business.
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Except there will be employees at the bank. They’re just getting rid of tellers.
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I know this is going to sound silly, but every time I hear aboiut a burger making kiosk, self driving cars, and now faceless banking (think those people will come out if they don’t have to?), all I can see is scenes from The Fifth Element or Blade Runner. All automation and very little in the way of humanity. I know, it’s a bit far-fetched, but there it is at the back of my mind.
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EVERBANK.com
On line bank with no bricks and mortar….
Been doing business with them 10+ years… no complaints…
App to deposit checks, you can transfer money to other banks, free
Linked credit card,,,, good phone support, they pay for some atm use…
I don’t use much cash these days,,, everything goes on the credit card…
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My local bank got rid of tellers a while ago. There are just two people behind desks and an ATM. Hasn’t bothered me at all.
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This is no big deal. We have them already, they are called ATMs.
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wonder why they still need branches. pretty much any doc can be scanned and emailed and you don’t need a full branch to house atm machines. banks these days allocate more and more space to non-bank services like pitching annuity contracts to customers.
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Having dealt with BofA in several kinds of business over the years I can see it working for them. Long distance ass-holery is even easier than in-your-face ass-holery. It suits their business model perfectly.
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BofA remains uneqalled in their battle with the USPS to take the ‘service’ out of Customer Service.
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