Bye-bye bank branch. Kelowna Capri location closing in June
It’s a sign of the times. More and more people are banking online, with their smartphones and at automatic teller machines (ATMs), reducing the need for bricks-and-mortar bank branches.
As such, Bank of Montreal has decided to shut its Capri Centre branch in Kelowna at the corner of Highway 97 and Gordon Drive on June 23.
The announcement was made this week, giving clients of the branch a long, fourmonth warning.
“Bank branches remain a cornerstone of our business,” said John Duff, regional vicepresident for the Southern Interior for Bank of Montreal.
“But as customer preferences change rapidly and more banking is done digitally and on mobile devices we have to evolve, review our network and strategy and evolve with the number and types of branches we have.”
The bank is positioning the move as a branch relocation rather than a branch closure.
A one-page notice mailed out to all clients of the branch is titled: “Important notice. Your BMO Bank of Montreal branch is relocating.”
The reality is, the doors at the Capri branch will close forever on June 23 and all customer accounts, loans and investments will be transferred to the Bank of Montreal branch at Orchard Place at 1875 Dilworth Dr.
“The decision to close a branch is not one we make lightly,” said Duff.
“Obviously, it will impact different customers in different ways.”
That may be in reference to the Capri branch having a lot of senior clients who might walk to the branch and still like to do their banking with a live teller.
The eight staff at the Capri branch will all keep their jobs and be transferred to one of Kelowna’s three other Bank of Montreal branches, the aforementioned one on Dilworth, the downtown main branch or the one in Mission Park Mall.
“In this case, we’ve decided to invest in people and technology” (rather than keep the Capri branch open), said Duff.
The Dilworth branch has already been renovated and expanded to accommodate more staff and more customers with the influx of the Capri branch business.
Besides changing some branch-visiting habits, customers don’t have to do anything for the transfer.
All accounts, loans and investments, including mortgages, lines of credit, guaranteed income certificates and registered retirement savings plans will automatically be transferred. Account numbers stay the same. Although existing cheques may have the Capri address on them, customers can use them up and new branch information will be included in the next cheque order.
All direct deposits and pre-authorized payments will continue without interruption.
Safety deposit boxes will remain securely sealed and moved to the new branch.
The Bank of Montreal has six other branches in the Okanagan in West Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, Summerland, Osoyoos and Enderby.