The Future Of The Physical Bank
LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now in the past, managing your money could only be done by going to the bank. But with today's technology it's increasingly done digitally. So, what's to become of the brick and mortar bank? Well, Richard Quest investigates in this week's Tomorrow Transformed.</s>RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was a time when handling your money meant popping down to your local branch to do a bit of banking. Today, much of that bank fits into the palm of our hands. A click here and we check our balance. A few swipes and money is transferred anywhere in the world. Taking a picture can deposit a check. Across the financial world, these services are being offered digitally. And consumers like them, which begs the question, what happens to those expensive branches? Interestingly, they might have bright prospects ahead. The future of banking might take us back into our local branches as traditional banks look for ways to make their physical space as enticing as the virtual one.</s>EVE CALLAHAN, SVP COPR. COMMUNICATION UMPQUA BANK: The branch model is outdated and not relevant any longer. We're looking to create a different kind of bank, one that offers all the products and services of a large bank, but delivers them with the real community engagement and the service of a great retailer or hospitality company.</s>QUEST: Oregon-based Umpqua Bank have adopted what they call the store concept for their 364 branches. It's modeled after retailers like The Gap and The Apple Store. The goal is to attract customers with a more comfortable, a more welcoming experience.</s>CALLAHAN: We recognize that consumers are looking for physical as well as online and mobile. They want to be able to engage with the company in a way that's convenient for them.</s>QUEST: Umpqua's store in San Francisco is the latest evolution of this concept. Want information? View it on their catalyst wall instead of a brochure. Need a meeting room? Rent one of theirs at no cost. Even if you just want to place to have a coffee, put your feet up and use wi-fi, the Umpqua doors are open.</s>ABDUL SANGER, UMPQUA BANK: There's no pressure that you're not a customer with us. So we welcome them regardless if they have a relationship with us or not.</s>VIRGINIA KELLY, UMPQUA BANK CUSTOMER: We still do our banking online, but we come here because of the community, because of meeting the people that we see when we come here.</s>QUEST: And that's the key. Bankers rely heavily on face-to-face relationships to offer financial products and services. So, they're offering new enticements to lure internet and mobile customers back into the branch. Banks like Barclays, Chase and Citibank have all created these new branches with that very thought in mind, trying to capture the new banking consumer.</s>CALLAHAN: How companies come up with a model that creates a truly integrated customer experience, I think those companies are going to be the organizations that really win in the future.</s>QUEST: How fascinating, digital and physical coexisting and thriving in the banking world.</s>LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. And World Sport is next with more on the death of Phil Hughes. END