By the numbers
1 percent: Projected increase in bank teller jobs during the decade, meaning little or no growth.
14 percent: Projected increase in loan officers during the decade
$24,100: Median annual pay for tellers
$56,490: Median annual pay for loan officers
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
By Deon Roberts
The Charlotte Observer (MCT)
As more of their customers migrate to mobile devices and online, banks are rolling out branches with fewer teller stations and introducing ATMs with video tellers built in.
Banks say they’re giving customers the convenience they want, but some advocates for the elderly and disabled fear it means a decline in access.
The shift also means fewer of the banking industry’s traditional entry-level jobs in new branches.
“That’s probably one of the unintended consequences of the reshaping of how the consumer banks,” said David Barksdale, chief strategist for NewBridge Bank.
Wright-Patt Credit Union Inc. has installed recently the new video teller technology at branches in Springboro and Springfield.
The machines let users video conference from inside the lobby or the drive-through with remote tellers in offices near the Dayton Mall.
NCR Corp., the maker of the machines, confirmed Wright-Patt was the first financial institution to introduce the interactive video technology in southwest Ohio.
Banks nationwide are planning new branches that will be more high-tech — employees might be equipped with tablets, for example — and house more lenders.
But noticeably absent, the officials say, will be the long — and familiar — teller counters.
In some cases, a new branch might have just one teller.
“You’re not going to be walking into branches where there are six tellers lined up,” said Weston Andress, PNC Bank president for western North Carolina. “What you don’t want to do, obviously, is have lines of tellers, or whoever it might be, sitting there waiting for the customer that’s really never going to show up.”
That means it will be less likely that someone with just a high school education will find work in branches. While banks are boosting other types of jobs, like lenders and other specialists, in the new branches, officials say those will go to people who hold the proper licenses, like that for a financial solutions adviser.
Across the banking industry, the shrinking teller positions are being attributed to new technology, which enables consumers to do on their smart phones and computers much of what they once did at branches. That, bankers say, is leading to fewer customers going to teller lines, which creates less need for tellers.
“Over half our deposits are made at ATMs, not at branches,” said Robert Aulebach, an executive for Bank of America in charge of branch and ATM placement. “The better your apps are, the better your ATMs are, the better your online banking is, the more people use it. Convenience is still the No. 1 factor that people use in choosing a bank.”
At a growing number of banks, customers can deposit checks using their smartphones. Even before customers had that ability, they could pay bills online, depending on their banks.
But the changes have critics.
The trend toward more digital banking concerns advocates for the elderly. They point to a lack of access to high-speed Internet connections for that age group, which the advocates see as worrisome as more banks, even small ones, are increasingly putting services online.
Elizabeth Costle, director of consumer and state affairs for the AARP’s Public Policy Institute, said adults older than 60 are not as comfortable with online business transactions as younger age groups.
“They’re not digital-native,” she said. “There’s no question that they like dealing with people in person. So I think tellers and branches are very important” to them.
As banks introduce new technology, they should be careful about making sure they continue to meet the needs of older customers, she said.
“Older people actually have higher net worth. This is a big market for banks.”
In May, NewBridge Bank opened a retail branch in Charlotte. The 6,000-square-foot branch has one teller, who sits at a desk instead of standing behind a counter.
“I don’t think that every branch has a standard teller count. I think those days are gone,” said Barksdale, NewBridge’s chief strategist.
The reduction in teller lines is happening as branches are becoming smaller, a move being made as banks try to cut real estate-related expenses amid increased federal regulations.
In April, Wells Fargo unveiled a test branch in Washington, D.C., that’s 1,000 square feet, one-third the size of the bank’s typical branches. On a second-quarter earnings call with analysts, CEO John Stumpf said the pilot branch costs 40 percent less to operate.
With the hiring of more specialists, banks are making a push to close more loans and increase sales. From a design standpoint, banks are aiming to give branches “more of a retail feel,” said Nancy Everhart, a partner for Charlotte-based Little Diversified Architectural Consulting.
While tellers are disappearing from branches, they are popping up someplace new: in ATMs.
Bank of America this year started putting new ATMs in Atlanta and Boston. The machines have a screen that allows customers to interact with tellers in call centers in Florida or Delaware. The real-time access to tellers is available until 10 p.m. weekdays and 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, the bank said.
Despite the ongoing decrease in foot traffic to teller lines, bankers say they continue to see a need for branches.
“People transact with us through a lot of these electronic channels. But when they come to buy something, they almost always buy in person,” said Aulebach. “The consumer psyche has not changed on that.”
The benefit Wright-Patt Credit Union sees is providing banking services at lower cost, freeing credit union employees to meet with member customers about loans and credit products, said Doug Fecher, credit union president and chief executive officer.
But the video ATMs don’t replace tellers at credit union, he said.
“In fact, we believe ultimately as we continue to grow we will need more tellers,” he said. “What we’re really trying to do is to be able to continue to meet the member’s expectations of growth at a lower overall cost.”
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