First Chicago NBD Adding Kiosks

First Chicago NBD Corp. said it would double to 20 the number of its electronic banking kiosks installed in branches and office building complexes in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.

The kiosks feature a combination of live-action video and two- and three-dimensional animation that introduces customers to First Chicago's banking services, including telephone and on-line banking, mortgages, loans, and cards.

Transaction capabilities will be added to the kiosks this year, said Thomas Kelly, a bank spokesman.

An actor plays "Ed Access," a video character who periodically pops up on the kiosk screen to lure passersby, Mr. Kelly said.

Consultants said kiosks give banks greater access to customers without the costs of adding full-service branches. As of last year, 400 kiosks had been deployed by banks, according to Mentis Corp., a market research firm in Raleigh, N.C.

Banks are deploying multi-functional kiosks to capture customers at malls and supermarkets.

"Banks are repositioning themselves to get back into the flow of where the people are," said Edward Furash, president of Furash & Co., a consulting firm in Alexandria, Va.

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