Is this a new trend...

[Ravenous Wolf]

One of the newest branches of a credit union that I belong to has this arrangement at their branch.

Inside a branch, you cannot actually see a physical teller. You go up to a monitor and do your transactions just like you would do through the drive though, except that you are inside the building.

I noticed that a few places in town have adapted to that.

I wonder if this is going to become a trend in the commercial banking world?

I wonder if it will come to a point in which it will be rare to actually be in front of a physical person while you are at the bank?

[DHK]

I would say that it depends on the bank and their commitment to personal service.

(It could also be a trend in higher crime areas and the bank's commitment to the safety of their team members.)

There are so many gray areas in banking that I wouldn't want to trust a computer to make those decisions. Also, the Customer plays a key part in how the transaction is processed.

We are trained to look at 4 key elements in every transaction:
The Customer
The Identification (if applicable for cash back transactions)
The Account
The Item(s) being deposited and/or cashed

If you have a much better impression and knowledge of the customer, I am more inclined to do a transaction closer to their favor.

If machines are taking over banking, that eliminates at least 1/4 of the factors in giving great service.