Hi-tech banks put customers in driving seat

“DRIVE-THRU” banking could arrive in Britain next year as major banks are in talks to replace local branches with hi-tech machines.

Customers would be able to open an account, ask for an overdraft or even apply for a mortgage from the comfort of their car.

NCR, a financial technology company, said it was holding discussions with big lenders that are considering installing advanced “bank in a box” ATM machines, as well as drive-thru banking as early as 2018.

Drive-thru banks already operate in France, Germany and the US, where they are relatively commonplace.

In Britain, 2017 is on course to be a record year for the number of local branches closing. Over the past two years, 1,046 have shut.

The hope is that they could be replaced by technology, offering the same services to customers at a lower cost. NCR’s “bank in a box” stations allow customers to swipe, pinch and zoom in on a colourful 19-inch screen, just like on a tablet.

Customers also have a video option allowing them to talk to staff.

About 80 per cent of the transactions typically completed inside a physical branch can be done through a video teller at an ATM, the company said.

But there are fears that the loss of physical branches is leaving millions of elderly and vulnerable people without access to banking services.

A spokesman at NCR claimed its banking stations were “elderly friendly” as they allowed customers to pinch the screen to make text larger and easier to read. A trial carried out in Switzerland received largely positive feedback from elderly customers, the spokesman said.

NCR is a global provider of self-service banking machines and has provided technology for Barclays Bank in the UK and Wells Fargo in the US. A spokesman for the British Banking Association, a trade body, said: “Banks are always looking for new ways of-making banking services more convenient for customers.

“However, technology is not for everyone and it’s important to make sure that no-one gets left behind which is why innovation and the adoption of new technologies are driven by customer demand and how this fits with individual banks’ business models.”