Self-Serve Banking - A backward step :(

[Fulvio]

So, I wandered down to Burwood today to pick up a stash of paper notes, and while I was there I checked out the new CBA they moved into last week.

The day before the move I joked with the staff that the new place is half the size of the old branch two doors down, and that they were doing it to halve the rent.

Well, I was wrong. Its more like a corridor with machines lining both sides. Machines to accept and dispense coins and notes on the left, terminals for the one or two staff to stand at on the right. And not a teller anywhere in the building.

When I expressed disappointment at not having humans to deal with and get my coin fix, the response was that since only 11% of customers ever visit a branch, this new format was the way of the future. And anyway, if I want a 'real' branch, I can always drive to Ashburton or Burwood East, opposite the RSPCA.

I dunno.. I can remember not only supermarkets with more than one checkout chick, but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night.

I get the idea that branches need to change, but the new Westpac at Chadstone, or any Bank of Melbourne, is more the way to go in my book. If I want to do everything online, I'll use CUA, which offers far more than any bank on that front.

RIP Noodling in the not too distant future, methinks.

[Goldseeker]

What do you mean, "in the future"?

It is already here in some parts of Melbourne.

[Fulvio]

It is already here in some parts of Melbourne.

Nah, one day, after you're all recovered and all, I'll drive over and prove it to you. :angel:

[JeffH]

On previous form; whatever the banks decide is the right way to go (and they don't seem to agree with each other) will be shown, down the track, to not work very well.
They will then invoke the streaker's defence -"It seemed like a good idea at the time" - and proceed to a 'new' scheme which is actually a resurrection of what they had before -but, too much loss of face to actually admit that.
Many banks did actually admit they made a mistake closing many, many branches some years ago and, in recent years, have been opening new branches, But they are 'new and different'; If what Fulvio suggests is correct they may well be different -but not equal, or even better, than what went before. A phrase from a song just came to mind..."When will they ever learn?". Indeed, where have all the flowers gone?

Our economy (and career paths) have become much more service oriented in the last decades and customers respond favourably to service with personal interaction. Large institutions that consider the return to the shareholder the only measure of their worth seem to be prone to this type of decision.

[robbiegal]

"but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night."

yep - used to do that
ALWAYS had to ask the customer about having the oil checked too
even offer to check the tyre pressure  ....

but the oil sales was where the money was,  apparently
"but actual SERVICE stations where they'd fill your tank, wash your windscreen and all that, without you even having to get out of the car on a freezing wet night."

yep - used to do that
ALWAYS had to ask the customer about having the oil checked too
even offer to check the tyre pressure  ....

but the oil sales was where the money was,  apparently

[trout]

This sort of banking has been with us in some form for many years now.
EFTPOS machines and internet banking are the "Norm" now, That's self serve isn't it?
Banks are there to serve commerce and lets face facts here MOST of the shops and services get their payment via electronic means these days so there is less need to have 10-12 people employed at a bank to process all those funds  now, its called progress folks :ok:
Personally the only time I need hard cold cash is at a boozer or at an auction.
Most business now consider a direct deposit to their bank account a cash payment anyway
Come on McDuck, you keep flogging the idea of crypto currency that most certainly doesn't have a bunch of bank tellers in every town dispensing cold hard cash and yet you groan and moan about the banks getting "slightly Digital" :laugh2:
HMMM :angel:

[Australian coin]

cash is still very much part of most places down here, in fact they charge 5% if you use a card, and some places have signs that say cash only

[trout]

cash is still very much part of most places down here, in fact they charge 5% if you use a card, and some places have signs that say cash only

Do you guys still get paid in cash ?

[Australian coin]

nah, haha unless your doing training or off the books

[trout]

nah, haha unless your doing training or off the books

I doubt that many people get paid in cash these days and that is why the banks have been "down sizing" over the years as well.
Most banks still provide a personal approach when it comes to opening an account or something like that But they used to spend 90% of the time simply receiving cash or dispensing it, This largely does not happen anymore :ok:
I can envisage a time when if you don't have a business account with a bank you won't be able to withdraw coinage for personal use/noodling without incurring a fee :angel:

[Fulvio]

Come on McDuck, you keep flogging the idea of crypto currency that most certainly doesn't have a bunch of bank tellers in every town dispensing cold hard cash and yet you groan and moan about the banks getting "slightly Digital"

Fair point, except for two things...

1. You can't noodle Cryptos. Its just money. And as money, who cares? I've been banking with CUA and its predecessors for 30+ years now, and I've probably been to a branch on average once a year.

2. This is not "slightly Digital". This is a whole new ball game, which does for banking what those accursed Armaguard coin dispensers at the supermarkets do. What are we going to do when all the branches are like that? Stand there siphoning rolls out of the machine all day in the hope of hitting a good one?

[JeffH]

Do you guys still get paid in cash ?

Regularly However, I am not an employee of anyone else and most of my jobs are for individuals and only relatively small sums (a few hundred dollars is typical).

[trout]

This is not "slightly Digital". This is a whole new ball game, which does for banking what those accursed Armaguard coin dispensers at the supermarkets do. What are we going to do when all the branches are like that? Stand there siphoning rolls out of the machine all day in the hope of hitting a good one?

I don't think the bank took into account your noodling needs when they designed their new infrastructure Mate :laugh2:

[Fulvio]

I don't think the bank took into account your noodling needs when they designed their new infrastructure Mate :laugh2:

I knew that.

Point is, noodling is a big part of our hobby. If we're not going to become just a captive audience for manufactured rarities, aka 'granny bait', we need to have access to circulating currency, and in high grade.

The tendency is towards removing all access progressively.

We can no longer buy direct from the mint
We can no longer deal with Armaguard direct
Retailers were always a pain, but dispensers remove any chance there as well
And now banks are doing the same

Where are we supposed to source our coins from in a decade or so when this new model becomes the norm?

[JeffH]

Hobby collecting is not a factor in the Big Business Model. They couldn't care less.
The sooner they get rid of cash, the better, they believe.

I see a similar thing happening with stamps. Australia Post regularly advertises special stamp issues, albums, collecting paraphernalia and such. But do they want you to use stamps on your mail? NO -print out a postage label on-line, buy a label over the counter or purchase a postage pre-paid envelope, satchel or bag.
Heaven forbid! Why would you want to soak old, cancelled stamps off a postal item? How quaint!