Bank of America Opens Three Teller-less "Robo Branches"

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

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New Jersey
A bank with no tellers. Guess we saw it coming. I barely have to step foot in a bank anymore, except to go to my safe deposit box which may be only once a year so this doesn't impact me personally but I would hate to see yet more people lose work due to automation. And what if it becomes a trend. It is bound to save the banks money in the long run. What are your thoughts?

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170211/business/170219892/
 

OneEyedDiva said:
A bank with no tellers. Guess we saw it coming. I barely have to step foot in a bank anymore, except to go to my safe deposit box which may be only once a year so this doesn't impact me personally but I would hate to see yet more people lose work due to automation. And what if it becomes a trend. It is bound to save the banks money in the long run. What are your thoughts?

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20170211/business/170219892/
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I go to a bank branch several times a year. But in the past year, the mega banks' branches nearby are like ghost towns. There might be a teller or two, but it's difficult to find a "banker." A few months ago, I went to my local BBVA branch to cash-out a CD and was given the option of waiting over an hour or come back tomorrow because the one banker there was "in a meeting."

Now I have moved much of my money to a smaller old-fashioned regional bank. Not only do they have tellers and bankers available to serve me... when I walk in they know me... and their CD rates are much higher than the mega banks.
 

Not surprising that tellers are no longer needed. Online deposit, online payments, online loan applications all part of technology. Once in place the cost of wages, benefits, and upkeep of a branch office, opperational expenses are minor. Technology is everywhere taking away employment. Computers & robotics can work 24/7 with no wages, lunch breaks, vacation time, need for supervision. Breakdowns repaired by a single on call technician translate to profit in the long term. We live in a capitalist system where profit dictates the ability to stay in business. Technology isn't going to go away. Much like planning for retirement being aware of what to do to assure a decent lifestyle, young people need to be looking at what they need to do to make that happen. Hoping to get a job isn't a plan.
 
Knight said:
Not surprising that tellers are no longer needed. Online deposit, online payments, online loan applications all part of technology. Once in place the cost of wages, benefits, and upkeep of a branch office, opperational expenses are minor. Technology is everywhere taking away employment. Computers & robotics can work 24/7 with no wages, lunch breaks, vacation time, need for supervision. Breakdowns repaired by a single on call technician translate to profit in the long term. We live in a capitalist system where profit dictates the ability to stay in business. Technology isn't going to go away. Much like planning for retirement being aware of what to do to assure a decent lifestyle, young people need to be looking at what they need to do to make that happen. Hoping to get a job isn't a plan.
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I hate the fact that computers are talking over all aspects of our lives, reducing all of us to mere digits on Big Brother's motherboard.

Makes me hope for an EMP.

That is why I moved most of my banking from a mega bank to an old-fashioned regional bank were they excel at personal service.
 
RadishRose said:
Supermarket cashiers, too.

I thought we wanted more jobs??
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Would be great if more jobs instead of less were what the future holds. Here at the beginning of the year trash company dropped off two huge bins, one for recyclables one for trash. A special truck for each comes around once a week, one driver no person to pick up and dump. Short term the expense of buying the equipment is high. Long term once a week with one employee the fuel & all that goes with human employment not a cost factor for the trash company.
 
It sounds like a gimmick to me.

BOFA has a freestanding ATM island near my home without the video conferencing feature and it is always busy.

If I needed anything more than the ATM feature I would go to the online banking or a traditional branch.
 
I mentioned on here just a month or so ago that my bank had gone 'teller-less' . Two 'bankers' ? each in their offices . Ya go in and one will step out & offer help, they have a cash drawer, and of course a computer at hand to access your account.

If the drive-thru chime sounds they also tend it . Between stand-up desk / customers counters gone, and the old teller counter closed [scheduled to be taken down], the dim lighting , and the dark tint on their office windows....it's just odd entering the bank nowadays .

They said an all new lobby/office makeover was in the works.

It used to amuse me...I'd walk in , the vault door would be wide open , drive-up teller's cash drawer wide open....but that two-cent pen was chained to the customer desk....LOL.
 
rgp said:
The only thing the purse string holders want is more profit.

Fewer jobs / employees mean just that...and that means more $$ for the CEO's & increased dividends for investors.
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Dividends and pay are part of the capitalist system. The alternative is the socialist system. Nothing political about identifying the difference. Since I grew up and have prospered under the capitalist system where profit & innovation keeps companies in business I tend to favor it.
 
RadishRose said:
Supermarket cashiers, too.

I thought we wanted more jobs??
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I'm not an economist but it seems to me that we now live in a world where it is actually cheaper to automate and pay people with limited skills and ability to stay home.

I'm not talking specifically about bank tellers or cashiers but many jobs like gas station attendants, elevator operators, night watchmen, etc...

I also think that the decrease in many of these jobs due to automation may contribute to a corresponding uptick in vandalism, petty theft, etc... IMO a person is a much better crime deterrent than a camera.
 
Sadly, Aunt Bea, some of what you say has crossed my mind. What if all service-related jobs were automated and all tech support for the bots are outsourced off shore, as already happened. What if the rich one percent had to take care of everyone else? Sci-Fi! Crazy thoughts.
 
RadishRose said:
Sadly, Aunt Bea, some of what you say has crossed my mind. What if all service-related jobs were automated and all tech support for the bots are outsourced off shore, as already happened. What if the rich one percent had to take care of everyone else? Sci-Fi! Crazy thoughts.
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That won't happen.

However, I can envision some of the rich one percent worldwide planning massive global depopulation.
One way to do that is another world war.
 
I still go to my BOA once and a while, so far we still have someone who greets customers at the door, but only two tellers, one of which also serves the drive through. But then, most of the branches I've used, in the past decade have hardly ever been all that busy anyway. I've been with them for at least three name changes and over two decades. I still have Fleet bank on the checks I use maybe once a month.
 
AprilT said:
I still go to my BOA once and a while, so far we still have someone who greets customers at the door, but only two tellers, one of which also serves the drive through. But then, most of the branches I've used, in the past decade have hardly ever been all that busy anyway. I've been with them for at least three name changes and over two decades. I still have Fleet bank on the checks I use maybe once a month.
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BofA's greeters make my hair stand on end!

It seems like they could find a more productive use for those people or get rid of them and cut expenses.
 
Aunt Bea said:
BofA's greeters make my hair stand on end!

It seems like they could find a more productive use for those people or get rid of them and cut expenses.
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True, I find their presence a bit annoying at best, but, I think they are there mostly to cut time for those who's needs can be served without seeing the tellers. They probably would be doing something else if they had more clients entering the business. I know at the busier branches I visited years ago, you would be lucky to get to see someone so quickly if you wanted to see someone other than the tellers.

But yes, their, sometimes, abrupt greeting reminds me of when sales persons accost you when you first enter the store. I guess we're never satisfied.
 
Automated cafes, ever been to one? McDonalds now offers self service on ordering so a person working the counter can see the machine that will soon replace them permanently. Try finding a job pumping gas! While it won't replace everyone everywhere technology is a lurking beast. On the good side look at farming proficiency due to automation meaning more food faster. I recently talked with the owner of an auto repair place and he said he can't find anyone that is trained in the new auto technology and he pays top wages. Also, money itself may disappear in the future.
 
B. of A. has been moving toward 'do it yourself' for several years now. They eliminated the drive-thru tellers in my town several years ago.
 
gennie said:
B. of A. has been moving toward 'do it yourself' for several years now. They eliminated the drive-thru tellers in my town several years ago.
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In my area, they have eliminated the drive-thru lanes in the poorer areas of the city and have kept them in the more affluent areas, not sure why.
 
I'm not surprized.
I know a couple people that were bank tellers for a while. Bank tellers have a VERY high turn over rate, due to the high pressure to do everything 100% correct and the boredom.

I luv <sarcasm> how BoA says "live banking isn't disappearing" when they have 22% fewer branches than 6 yrs ago.

I hope you can get more cash per transaction than regular ATMs, but I will never use BoA (or Wells Fargo).
 
I’ve been at the same bank for years in the same little town. They have such great personal service which I very much care for.
I don’t go in very often but when I do they recognize me and treat me well and I like that.
 
I really can't be mad at them at this time as each time years ago when I went over my balance, after hearing my arguments, they returned the bank fee and all was well. It was rare for me to go over my balance, so I guess maybe that had something to do with it. Knock on wood and in spite of some of the changes I don't care for, I've had pretty good service with BOA for all my years with them. I think, over the years, most similar type banks have made changes here and there as to what and how some service practices are conducted.

Now if they ever mess up my funds or don't give it to me when I ask for it, I may have to have a serious conversation with them about moving my tiny bit of money elsewhere.
 
Aunt Bea said:
In my area, they have eliminated the drive-thru lanes in the poorer areas of the city and have kept them in the more affluent areas, not sure why.
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Security...would be my guess. Poor areas are quite often 'desperate' areas as well. Examp;...a senior in the car, just withdrawing cash, is a 'soft' target for sure.
 

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