This is a rather contradictory piece, and indicative of how useless these surveys are now.
Finextra: Generations clash over bank channel preferences
US bank customers under the age of 34 prefer the anonymity of banking by laptop to the in-person branch banking experience, according to a survey conducted by the American Bankers Association.
….Edward Yingling, ABA president and CEO, comments: “We are continuing to
find that while our younger consumers feel comfortable banking from
their laptops, traditional services are still preferred by many. This
is why banks are trying to offer a variety of banking options in order
to meet all of their customers’ needs.”
Why do I still have the feeling that these surveys are being conducted by dinosaurs who are asking self serving questions about banks and branches, and just don’t want to let go.
In the Bank I used to work with until recently, the only way to open an account was to make an appointment, and visit a branch. How does that colour the survey, if the question is something like, “how did you open your last Bank account?”
Time for these surveys to move on.
Technorati Tags: surveys, online+banking
Bankwatch 
“(these surveys) are asking self serving questions about banks and branches…. Time for these surveys to move on.”
Way to go Colin. In 16 words, you’ve just summarized the problem with consumer bank channel preference research that’s contributing to a billion-dollar over investment in brick and mortar. But that’s just my (self-serving) opinion
I spent years within banks trying to kill off the branch channel but I’ve since come around. There a number of reasons the branch needs to exist. It’s not for day to day banking but
1. account opening, there’s still a lot of problems with fraud and basic Know Your Customer obligations that continue to make it difficult to accept new customers sight unseen. Most of the virtual banks for instance require you to have an account with another (bricks and mortar) institution in order to ensure that somebody has done the KYC.
2. Physical brand presence. Banks open branches for the same reason apple opens retail outlets. It’s not necessarily rational behaviour on the part of consumers, but the mass consumer is far far from rational in practice. They trust physical banks and seeing ‘real’ people when it comes to important financial decisions.
And the consumer will pay. They won’t pay as much for virtual banks, and that’s why the big retail banks are able to earn fees and spreads that are so much higher.
And even as the consumers gripe about these fees, they still keep lining up…
Thomas … I agree that KYC and brand presence are reasons for branches. But I would argue that is not what the current set of branches are designed to do, nor what they actually do very well. RBC might be closest in Canada. The stats suggest that the majority of actual branch activity nowadays centres on:
1) business needs; commercial deposits, coin and cash supply
2) service; fielding questions, servicing ABM’s (some Banks only)
3) loan and mortgage apps
How people manage their money is one of the most personal things one can do. Whether you go strictly online or to the branch is a sticky question since there are so many variables: from the quality of customer service to the type and complexity of a given transaction. The problem for banks is not whether to go branchless or not, but trying to provide comparable services online and off. That starts with customers doing their research and opening a new account, which by its sheer complexity very often requires a branch visit. And if you’re lucky, you’ll be received by someone who knows their stuff and is truly helpful. Whether online or off, its a combination that’s hard to find.
Thanks boysb244f0e3280a2629bd4ee99abd7c5be2
I totally agree that the information coming from these surveys is pretty much useless. I don’t think we will see banking become branch-less any time soon just like we won’t see the world go paperless any time soon. Its all about offering a good mix of products and services across all the different communication channels. Sometimes its equally, or more, annoying to try and do something online with no assistance than it is to go to the branch for something you wish you could do online.