Australia’s Westpac, the country’s largest banking group by branches, has announced it is to overhaul its network of 680 outlets with two of the new look branches now operating in Queensland and Western Australia.
Westpac has earmarked A$240m ($253m) for the tech focused overhaul.
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The most notable change to the outlets is the removal of the glass security screens which separate the customers from the bank staff. This is in favour of an open plan layout, according to Westpac.
Jason Yetton, group executive of Westpac retail and business banking, said: "The advent of mobile banking, first through smart phones and now tablets, has completely altered the way our customers bank with us and as a result they want more advice from our staff about how to get the most out of their finances and how to plan for the future."
Westpac is planning to refurbish a third of its existing branches over the next three years in to what it calls the Bank Now format. New branches opening will automatically adopt the design. The remainder of the network will progressively be updated as existing property leases expire.
Yetton added: "Some commentators have predicted the death of the branch in the digital world but nothing could be further from the truth. As our new branches show, not only are we confident about the future of branches we also know this is exactly the type of face-to-face service that our small business and personal customers are asking for."
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By GlobalData
