The future bank

New technology means big changes for many employees of financial services organisations. From the back office to the trading floor, the call centre to the branch, it seems none will be immune to the spread of new technology.

The biggest losers will be the army of administrative staff. With automated processing and the use of web services, financial organisations will be able to make big staff reductions.

‘If you use XML to create documents, for example, you do not need lots of people shuffling paper,’ says Rachel Hunt, analyst at Financial Insights.

Bank branches, too, will change, but they will not disappear. Although staff will increasingly interact with customers via the phone, internet and digital TV, in five years there will still be many customers who want to visit a branch.

There may even be an increase in branch numbers, a trend already evident in some European countries, says Hunt. ‘But the definition of a branch is evolving. It will become more self-service, with ATMs and kiosks,’ she says. ‘You will need fewer people who will take a more advisory role. The teller will change from someone who cashes your cheques to more of an account manager.’

For example, branch staff may help customers use the self-service facilities, or introduce them to someone who can help with a more detailed query – perhaps virtually. Gartner’s Peter Redshaw says they could offer to set up a video conferencing link directly to a mortgage advisor working offsite.