Smart bank branches must first and foremost be people-centric

THE traditional bank branch as we know it, with most of the floor space devoted to tellers behind counters and bankers hidden in cubicles with desktop computers, seems headed for eventual obsolescence.

In July, OCBC Bank said it would cut the number of bank tellers by half and retrain affected staff, prompting concerns about whether there will be similar changes across the banking industry here.

The writing has in fact been on the wall for some time now. Technology has changed the way financial services are being provided and used. Consumers in Singapore, like others elsewhere, are increasingly using their smartphones for electronic payments and other banking transactions. According to a McKinsey study, financial institutions globally now process far more transactions digitally than in branches, heralding the advent of the "smart branch" - one which uses technology to boost sales and improve customer experience significantly.