Good Question: When are bank lobbies reopening?

As things start to slowly reopen in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, News10NBC has received quite a few questions about banks.

They are considered essential in New York, but not all of them are open. At the very least, they are at least keeping you from lobbies. A viewer named Angie reached out asking: When will banks be able to open the doors for transactions, instead of just drive up windows?

There's been no widespread order for banks to close. Any changes are happening on a company by company basis.

Early on during this outbreak, Chase became the first major national lender to shut down some 1,000 branches to reduce the spread of the virus. The rest of the company has stayed open, but with limited hours or services.

It's a similar situation at other local banks. ESL cut off nearly all business in house by closing down lobbies. You can still go into the bank, but for select services and by appointment only. ESL also extended limits to what you can do at the drive-thru.

KeyBank also closed all lobbies and some branches. You can do drive-thru or schedule appointments to meet with a banker on site. News10NBC's Brennan Somers asked KeyBank and ESL about specific dates for reopening lobbies for walk-in customers.

While neither has a firm date set, KeyBank's Regional Communications Manager Matthew Pitts sent the following response to News10NBC:

"KeyBank remains committed

to

the health and safety of our clients and colleagues. Currently, most of our branch lobbies are open for appointments only. KeyBank's branch drive-thrus and ATMs remain available. A small number of branches which temporarily closed in March will start to reopen on June 1 for appointments and drive-thru service only. We anticipate most of these branches will be open by June 15.

We are currently working with our teammates on a plan to begin reopening our branch lobbies to foot traffic later in June and into July. The safety of our clients and teammates continues to be our highest priority.

As we make decisions to reopen branches, KeyBank teammates will continue to observe social distancing policies and we ask that clients do the same. Additionally, all branches will have professional cleaning on a regular basis.

For information on branch locations, contact information, and drive-thru availability, clients are asked to log on to Key.com and use the branch locator to find their nearest location.

KeyBank clients are also always able to access their accounts and perform transactions through online banking at Key.com, digital banking on the KeyBank app, and by calling 1-800-Key2You."

The Corporate Communications and Social Media Manager Rich Pulvino from ESL also sent a response:

"The health and well- being of our employees and customers continues to be at the forefront of all our decisions regarding our business operations. As an essential business, although our lobbies have been closed for general usage, we have been open and serving all our customer needs throughout the pandemic. Our branch lobbies are still open by appointment-only for select services and we continue to offer expanded services via our drive-thru teller lanes, as well as via phone, Live Chat, Online Banking and Mobile Banking.

While we are discussing and planning the restoration of more services to our branch lobbies, we do not have a specific date at this time when this will occur. We do know that our opening process will be gradual as we continue to ensure proper social distancing guidelines from the County and State are followed, and the health and well-being of our employees and customers is protected to the best degree possible."

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust told News10NBC that starting Monday, June 1, it will be extending banking hours and reintroducing Saturdays.