Branch banking

Branches are closing at the fastest pace in years, and keeping them relevant to customers is a problem banks are being forced to solve in ever more creative ways.

Many kiosk manufacturers focus on cost and manufacturing efficiencies, placing little to no emphasis on experience architecture — where the physical meets the digital in design and engagement, writes Scott Reese, chief technology officer at Harbor Retail.

Having already recently absorbed Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai FCU, Credit Union of Southern California is now set to pick up tiny FedONE FCU.

The East Lansing-based credit union plans to open two branches in the Traverse City area, more than three hours north of its headquarters.

As foot traffic continues to decline, bankers are relying on gimmicks like dramatic lighting and placing buildings closer to highways in an effort to market their institutions.

Metro Bank had worked to win shareholder support by raising fresh capital and cutting ties with Hill's wife's design firm.

Fears are growing that the rapid rise in fee-charging ATMs could have catastrophic consequences for the U.K.’s fragile SME market, with major supermarkets and card networks predicted to be the biggest beneficiaries.

A Wells Fargo customer was interrogated, fingerprinted and mistakenly arrested for check forgery after a series of mistakes on the bank's part. He was cleared, and Wells says it made an error, but they are now fighting in civil court.

In the wake of the economic crisis, Paul Volcker called automated teller machines the last financial innovation that improved society. A decade later, their popularity is slipping.

Vernon Hill's U.K. bank sold $479 million of new stock and issued fresh details about its turnaround efforts. Those included plans to cease its controversial practice of purchasing design and branding services from a business owned by Hill's wife.