The local bank branch of the future may double as a café or a convenience store if a concept of five-star banking, being developed in the UAE, gains currency in the Emirates' growing market.
Complete with branded coffee shops, supervised play areas for children, private meeting areas or "suites", large plasma screens and an atmosphere generally not associated with a bank, several well-known banks are poised to introduce five-star or shopping complex-style banking in the UAE.
The concept has already caught on in some parts of the world, particularly in Western countries and East Asia, and in some IT savvy pockets of India.
Essentially, the concept seeks to do for banking what the introduction of the convenience store did for petrol stations – make them a one-stop shop for simple daily needs and much more than a place for monetary transactions.
Recently, Abu Dhabi has witnessed the development of new bank branches with this 360-degree approach to banking, with Standard Chartered among the pioneers. The bank celebrated its golden jubilee in the UAE with the opening of its flagship retail-cum-corporate financial centre in the capital.
Occupying the ground floor of a tower in Zayed the First Street in Khalidiyah, it is an impressive banking office with a snazzy interior design. It has the region's first branded coffee shop in a bank and a running digital panel from one edge of the floor to another, updating visitors with the country's stock market figures.
"Our customers or their friends can have a cup of coffee at the Starbucks café inside our branch, browse the internet for free at six dedicated terminals, have a confidential meeting with their money manager and know what's happening in the stock markets around the world right under their feet on the digital panel," said Hisham Malak, head of consumer banking for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain at Standard Chartered. "This is a unique concept we have introduced here."
According to Malak, the new branch has been designed to provide customers the utmost comfort. "If you look around, this is what we call lifestyle banking. That is why we have partnered with Starbucks to have their outlet right here inside the branch. You can come here with your friend, relax and do your banking. We have lots of people coming here in the morning to have coffee and do their banking at the same time.
"The layout of this branch aims at making it as convenient as possible for our customers. We have 11 tellers to minimise the waiting time. We have 13 customer service officers, each with a separate meeting room to ensure complete confidentiality," said Malak.
Standard Chartered is also the first bank in the country to introduce a mobile ATM service that goes to remote work sites to help workers withdraw money. Malak said: "We already have a limitation on the number of branches that we can have in the UAE. So, we thought we should try to bring the branch to the customer instead of waiting for them to come to one. And that is the idea where the mobile ATM came from.
"Although it is an ATM machine, the truck also provides other services – for instance opening an account or applying for a personal loan or a credit card. We have a banker in the truck that goes around to provide services at customers' doorsteps. The idea is very simple – to take the bank to the customer."
The bank provides mobile banking mainly to contracting companies outside the capital city and at events like sports tournaments and exhibitions where they participate as one of the sponsors.
Ruchil Mavana, a senior accountant at Marmum Dairy Farm, which has its workers' accounts with the bank, said: "It is very helpful for the companies located in remote areas. It is very convenient for our employees to withdraw their money this way and I believe there should be more of these mobile ATMs."
Almost all banks in Abu Dhabi have online utility bill payment services. Most are moving from traditional cashier or teller counters and receptionist desks to huge premises having big wide-screen digital TVs and comfortable seating with a variety of reading materials, as well as a cozy corner to enjoy beverages and snacks. Banks in the country are also stepping into the future with mobile units, phone and internet banking services, biometric or face-reading ATMs – or as Malak said "soon there will be bankers on call at your doorsteps to withdraw money from a laptop-size portable ATM".
Other banks that have changed the face of banking in the country are Barclays and the recently launched Hilal Bank. Hilal's new headquarters, located on the capital's Corniche Street, is more than a bank – it is more like a shopping mall with all the convenience and facilities.
It has a huge play area for customers to leave their children to have fun under the watchful eyes of trained attendants while they do their banking transactions. The bank also has a coffee shop, which also sells a few everyday knick-knacks. It will soon be contracted to an international brand name.
Barclays flagship branch on Hamdan Street in Abu Dhabi, has all the five-star services for its high-end customers – play areas for children, private meeting rooms with booking facilities and special customer service counters. Like five-star hotels, the meeting rooms are classified according to their facilities – from a normal meeting room to a royal suite room. The bank is also the first in the country to introduce a biometric ATM where customers are identified by scanning their fingers. Farhan Waheed, head of retail distribution and investments, Barclays UAE, said: "Premier Banking, our global initiative that we've just launched in Abu Dhabi, fits perfectly with the desire within the local market for tailored, exclusive service. It should prove highly attractive for our Abu Dhabi customers, and we are eager to launch similar branches across the region."
He said the service aimed to give customers the ultimate environment to make key decisions, hold important meetings or conduct their business. "When customers walk into the Barclays Premier branch in Abu Dhabi they will immediately feel that everything is designed to ignite inspiration and desire," said Waheed. "From the furniture to the vases, the carpet to the tables and the chairs to the water glasses, everything has been carefully selected by design experts to cater to the needs of our customers."
He said the bank is also going for full phone and internet banking services, where account holders can carry out all their transactions on their mobile phones or on the internet. Phone banking, though in its infancy in the country, is now catching up fast, with many banks providing SMS services informing their customers of their account developments such as when their salaries are credited, any other amount received or remittances made successfully.
"I work and live in an isolated place where there is no bank or any ATM machine," said Naseer Ahmed, a private employee in Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi's Western Region.
"I get my salary in my account between 25th and the 30th of every month and I would not know when it comes – it could be on any of those days. But thanks to the SMS messages I get from my bank [Union National Bank], I know when it's time to go to town or reach a nearby ATM to withdraw money."