First Look: Six Uses for Octocopters in Banking

Amazon made a splash Sunday with its unveiling of small, unmanned aircraft for delivering packages. It's currently in tests and awaiting approval from the FAA. Here are a few, perhaps obvious, suggestions for how this ingenious device could be used in financial services and other industries.

  1. White-glove treatment for special customers. Got a customer with tens of millions invested at Charles Schwab? A beautifully crafted mug featuring your bank's logo, delivered directly to that customer's doorstep, should have him transferring those funds to your bank's high-rate CDs in no time.
  2. Foreclosure notices. Make sure a borrower knows he's being evicted, minus the awkward, potentially testy conversation. Flying drones bearing foreclosure documents are a convenient solution.
  3. Layoff notices. Similarly, branch and back-office teams can be dismissed by a drone loaded with pink slips, saving money and time.
  4. Account closure notification. Need to discard an unprofitable customer but lost his mailing address? You're covered. Program an octocopter with the customer's cell phone GPS coordinates, equip it with an apologetic note, and be assured the person knows his account is toast.
  5. Repos. Today, they can only transport five pounds or less. But as the drones are designed to be bigger and more robust, they’ll be able to snatch cars and other items quickly and efficiently.
  6. Board meetings. The technology isn't quite there yet, but over time octocopters will have more intelligence built in that will surely enable them to make corporate decisions about budgets and executive hires. Replacing human board members with drones will save travel and golf membership expenses and help ensure everyone's on the same page.
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