Yorkshire Building Society is offering its customers financial advice in their own homes via live video conferencing.
The new service, which is a first from a major UK building society, will provide expert investment investment advice during working hours.
The video link-up also offers the secure sharing of documents, meaning banking arrangements and investment plans can be changed or confirmed without having to go into a branch.
Simon Broadley, Head of Investments at Yorkshire Building Society, says: “We know that many of our customers have very busy lives and it can be difficult to make time for investment advice due to their existing commitments. Technology has the power to instantly connect customers with a fully-qualified financial adviser – we want to ensure that making your money work for you is as easy as making a video call on a tablet."
The UK's largest building society, Nationwide, is currently in the midst of a roll out of high definition video banking services to 400 branches across the country. Since its launch, Nationwide NOW has helped over 3200 people with their mortgage, banking and financial planning needs, says the building society, and reduced waiting times to see a consultant from weeks in some rural locations to within days.
Nationwide says the video consultancy - now available in 161 branches - has proven so successful with customers that it intends to expand it beyond mortgage agents to include financial planning and personal banking managers.
Nor is the introduction of video banking confined to the building society sector, with both Barclays and Coutts beaming in consultants to talk to customers via their laptops and mobile devfices.