CHICAGO -- "Welcome to BMO Harris," says the bank teller who literally pops up on a screen inside this new bank branch in Chicago. "How can I help you?"
The customer says he'd like to withdraw $40 and wants it in $20s. He shows his driver's license and is asked to sign for the money. The transaction is seamless.
The video teller, Matt Chlopek, is in a BMO Harris Bank service center -- about 30 miles outside the city, in the suburbs.
The nature of BMO Harris Bank branches is changing, and the new Chicago branch is the first place where the Canadian-owned company introduced on March 16 its "smart branch," which means most transactions are handled through video-teller ATMs.
The most discernible differences between the new branch and the old is the absence of a traditional teller line, and there's also a more compact design.
"What we're doing in our smart branches will ultimately find its way to all of our locations," Bill Downe, chief executive of parent BMO Financial Group, said at the Toronto-based company's annual meeting last week.
BMO had been testing video tellers at two branches, one in downtown Chicago and one in Madison, Wis., but those branches also have had traditional teller lines for customers to fall back on.
BMO Harris Bank is the second-biggest bank in the Chicago area by deposits, and has more than 200 branches in the Chicago area.
Paul Dilda, head of BMO's North American branch and ATM channels, said the initial reaction from customers who have visited the new branch has been mixed, but that they adapt easily to the video tellers.
The live video tellers also help to extend the hours of the branch to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Regularly staffed hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. those days. On Friday, the regular branch hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the video tellers start at 8 a.m. On Saturday, regular branch hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., but the video tellers begin at 8 a.m.
To activate the video teller, the customer touches the screen. An ATM card isn't needed.
Video tellers accept deposits, handle withdrawals, issue receipts, transfer money between accounts and cash checks, in denominations ranging from $50 bills to coins. Customers can either speak directly at the video ATM or pick up a receiver, which exudes a feeling of privacy. If the live video teller needs a Social Security number, the consumer may say it out loud, or type it onto a keypad.
On the lower left hand side of the video ATM is a flat panel where people place their drivers' license. Chlopek scans that image to verify the identity. After transactions, people are also asked to provide an electronic signature.
The branch also has better wireless capabilities, both secure and public, giving employees on site the ability to roam with laptops and tablets. Their jobs also include helping to open accounts and provide money orders.
If someone has a more complex task, employees on site can help. Or, those employees might set up a video conference meeting in one of the private offices between a customer in the new branch and a financial adviser in a BMO Harris Bank branch elsewhere.
The new branch is 2,340 square feet. Dilda envisions branches getting down to 1,700 square feet.
"If you're building any new branch today, even one with traditional teller lines, you're looking at a smaller footprint," Dilda said. "You take out traditional teller lines, and you can go smaller."
A vault, for example, is no longer needed because all of the cash is managed by an outside security company, and it's all in the three ATMs.
Zachary Armstrong, a 21-year-old student, used a BMO Harris Bank video teller for the first time last week.
"It was interesting," said Armstrong, who made a deposit without any help from branch staffers and said he'd probably use it again.
Anson Bowe, 51, used the video teller to withdraw cash. He, too, said he'd probably use it again.
Bank branches keep evolving.
Last year, PNC Bank brought its branch of the future to Chicago. It has no visible teller windows or line, but features a "discovery table" reminiscent of the setup in Apple stores. People who once stood in the teller line are now ushered into small offices where employees perform traditional teller duties.
Chase, Chicago's biggest bank, has also been putting new innovations into its branches. Bankers roam with tablets, and ATMs that resemble supersize iPads are capable of dispensing multiple denominations.
Chase has completed 25 retrofits in Chicago-area branches and has more than 50 additional upgrades scheduled for branches in 2015, spokesman Christine Holevas said.
Although digital banking, including on mobile phones, is growing quickly, branches are still important, she said. Nine out of 10 Chase customers visit branches each year, and 60 percent of new investment money comes from customers investing with JPMorgan Chase for the first time, she said.
But Bob Meara, a senior banking analyst for consulting firm Celent, sees a "relatively small minority of banks tackling large and expensive task of branch transformation."
Business on 04/09/2015