Automated Banking, Technology, & Security of Bank Tellers

Yesterday I went to a federal credit union to deposit a check for my sister. My sister was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, and she asked me to deposit a check that had arrived in the mail for her. (I agreed to collect her mail while she was at the beach.)

So, I walk into the federal credit union, and to my surprise, there is only one visible employee in the *entire* building. The lone employee is sitting behind a circular desk, facing the front entrance. Surrounding her, on both sides, are automated machines that resemble ATMs, except they have a phone, a dark screen similar to a TV, and a tube-like device typically seen in drive-through banking.

No bank tellers are visible. No deposit slips can be seen.

I walk up to the closest machine, and try to figure out how the heck to use it. There are no instructions or diagrams anywhere on the machine.

After a few minutes, I decide to ask for help. The woman behind the counter who is foreign (English is clearly *not* her native language.) is very helpful. She shows me, and I follow her lead.

Turns out, there are no deposit slips. You sign and insert the check into a tube-like container (just like the ones in drive-through banking), making sure to write down the account number on the back of the check. Then, you hit the send button.

After sending the container up through the tube, the TV screen comes to life. I see an Indian woman who starts talking. I can barely hear her. She motions to me that I need to pick up the telephone. I speak into the telephone; I tell her I need to deposit this check into the checking account.

She asks if I have my driver's license with me. I say "No, I'm just depositing a check for my sister." She says, "Okay." (Sidenote: Since when do you need ID to deposit a check? ID is only required if you're withdrawing money, or cashing a check.)

I wait a couple of minutes, and then out pops a form which I sign, acknowledging the deposit. After signing, I send the form back to the teller (via the tube-like container), and she sends the bottom yellow copy back to me (via the tube-like container).

Transaction completed.

On my way out the door, I stop at the counter in the middle of the room. I ask the woman behind the counter how long they've had these machines. She tells me it's been close to a year, and that this is the future of banking.

I ask if the tellers are located in the same building. She says yes. (I had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps the tellers weren't even housed in the building.)

Here are my thoughts on this "banking experience" and some of the reasons behind its use…

• Obviously the security of the bank tellers (and therefore the security of the bank's money) is one of the key benefits of using this method. By removing the physical presence of the tellers, there is no way a gunman can come into the bank, point a gun, and request enormous sums of money under the threat of physical harm. Since there are no physical people (aside from the customer service woman behind the counter), a potential bank robber has very little leverage.
• While it's true that a potential bank robber could physically threaten/harm the woman behind the counter, this is unlikely to occur. The woman behind the counter is simply a customer service/watchdog employee. She does not have access to the bank's funds or interaction with money. Further, she probably has an emergency call button beneath her desk that could be activated if she were threatened or harmed.
• Another benefit of this banking method is that tellers could easily be outsourced. You could have tellers in remote locations handling transactions for multiple branch locations. This would keep tellers busy and use the bank's resources more effectively.
• Outsourcing of tellers is possible only through technology. Technology is now capable of connecting the customer at the machine (via video and phone) to the teller who is located God-knows-where.

Overall, I liked the automated banking process. The only annoyance was the lack of instructions on the machine. There should be written instructions on how to use the machines.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes before this banking process becomes mainstream.