An American credit union has put a 'technology champion' in every one of its 76 branches to help members get up to speed with its mobile and online services.
As more consumers turn to digital channels to conduct their daily banking transactions, the downward trend in branch activity levels is accelerating, fuelling the debate over the value of branch networks in a 21st century banking model.
Analyst house Celent says that the banking industry will soon respond to the obvious migration of customers to new digital alternatives and is forecasting a dramatic 30-40% reduction in the number of operating branches in the US over the next decade.
Mountain America Credit Union is seeking to manage the transition by using their branches to encourage members to ditch them for the digital world.
Rob Cummings, SVP, online and mobile banking, Mountain America, says that more transactions are already performed every day via the credit union's online and mobile services than in all of its branches combined.
However, many Americans are still unfamiliar and somewhat distrustful of mobile money and to counter this, trained 'technology champions' have been put in each of its 76 branches to answer questions.
"There's nothing like hands-on help with technology, so we've turned every branch into a mini tech haven for our members who have questions or need a demonstration," says Cummings.
Allied Irish Bank has recently taken a similar approach, unveiling a high-tech concept branch in Dublin to showcase the firm's digital services. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo is looking to bridge the online and physical worlds with technology-packed mini-branches.