With competition in banking becoming as intense as it is in retail, it is little surprise that bank branches increasingly resemble stores, with the old formality replaced by more modern design, customer-friendly features and plenty of point-of-sale promotion.
At least that’s the trend architect Keith Davignon, principal of Vision 3 Architects in Providence, says he sees in the industry.
“Banks are definitely getting away from the traditional conservative to a light and airy retail feel,” he said. Vision 3’s design for a new BankFive branch in Fairhaven, Mass., reflects that change, he added, with an interior that uses bold colors and maple wood, which is lighter than the mahogany of more traditional banks such as The Washington Trust Co.
Your Business Has Gone Global. Has Your Insurance?
A decade ago, “doing business internationally” was mostly a large-company concern. Today, a manufacturer in…
Learn More
To some extent, the trend reflects banks’ effort to appeal to younger customers, Davignon said. But there are other considerations as well, such as trying to stand out in a crowded market.
Bank Rhode Island, for example, has created a new type of branch, dubbed “Xcel,” that incorporates an art gallery, a coffee bar, a children’s play area and plasma screen televisions.
“The idea was to build the facility around the customer,” said James V. DeRentis, executive vice president and chief business officer at BankRI. “The design is for people to stay for a longer time, so we can talk to the customer and are better able to service them.”
Xcel branches are open seven days a week, to make them more convenient for customers’ schedules, he said. BankRI has also developed two other branch concepts: the Xpress branch, which is more transactional in nature, and a traditional-style branch.
The rebranding, which began in 2003, won an award last year in the ReBrand 100, a competition sponsored by Providence-based ReBrand and the Center for Design & Business at Rhode Island School of Design and judged by an international panel to recognize the best repositioning, revitalizing, restructuring or redesign of a brand.
Bank of America, which dramatically changed the look of the old Fleet Bank branches when it took them over in late 2004, has changed its own approach to branches “a lot” in recent years, said Michele Barlow, manager of “environmental communications” at the bank.
Since starting renovation and new branch programs within the last four years, Bank of America has started incorporating self-service ATMs, self-service online terminals and point-of-sale brochure displays in the waiting areas.
New branches have LCD televisions that promote bank products and free seminars, in addition to offering headline news, she said. And there is a meet-and-greet area where customer service and sales representatives guide customers to different areas depending on the service they require.
“Banks are marketing their products and services more aggressively,” Davignon said. “They’re having more sales upfront and tellers in the back.”
BankRI, for example, positions a central sales pod near the entrance of its branches, DeRentis said. Behind the counter, tellers and customer representatives cash checks, open accounts, make deposits, answer questions and offer information about products.
But there is a traditional teller line in the back as well, he said.
Davignon said he also is seeing smaller branches, fewer tellers and more drive-throughs in branch design.
Bank of America’s self-service online terminals and ATMs, for example, might eventually eliminate the need for as many tellers, though associates are still needed to answer questions and show customers how to set up bill payments online, Barlow said.
Because Bank of America has grown through mergers, it has a number of branches in need of renovations, she said. When the bank merged with Fleet, it had to rebrand 1,500 branches with new signs and ATM remodeling. But that rebranding didn’t include new furniture, carpets or paint. So the bank has a “multi-year plan to bring all branches up to consistency.”
In contrast to BankRI and Bank of America, Washington Trust keeps its traditional mahogany wood teller stations and plush furniture in its branch design because “it’s our signature,” said Elizabeth B. Eckel, senior vice president of marketing.
“We don’t do strip-mall plaza branches,” she said. “You’re not going to see glass and steel.”
Or displays of promotional material, Eckel said, because “we don’t want people bombarded.”
Washington Trust’s branch design largely aims to satisfy the bank’s clientele, which may include several generations of the same families. A grandmother might bring in a granddaughter to open her first account, for example. “We tend to attract older clients.”
But Washington Trust is also starting to incorporate some modern amenities in its branches, such as plasma televisions so that people can watch the news – not promotions – while they wait for service, Eckel said.
The bank tried offering coffee and children’s play areas as well, but found that people weren’t using them, she said. “It’s not like Starbucks.”
