Lifestyle banking at your service
BankWest joins the growing list of banks and wealth management firms eager to retain customers and win new ones by providing finance-related services in a more relaxed setting, complete with a place to read, cafe and even a mini-shop to buy office stationery.
While lifestyle banking is not new, with some branches decked out like airport lounges complete with a Starbucks café, BankWest takes the promotional strategy a step further by introducing what it calls “retail-inspired” branches. For example, weekday closing hours will be extended to 5.30pm (other banks have done this) and branches will be open on weekends.
But in what it claims is an Australia first, the new BankWest “stores” will sell non-financial products such as books, wallets, address books, writing pads, business card-holders and key-rings.
And just like the children’s play areas common in retail stores, BankWest stores will also feature kids’ entertainment areas and play café-style music.
The bank’s strategy comes at a time when the lines are blurring between how a retail store and a traditional bank operates. In the UK, grocery chains such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s have started offering financial products such as credit cards and insurance. WestBank reverses that trend by selling non-financial products. The strategy has worked spectacularly with the likes of the Australian Post Office and Starbucks expanding into books and CDs.
“People will always need banks, but I’d expect that what a bank looks, feels and smells like will change fairly radically. The bank of the future is a combination of convenience and experience,” said trend forecaster Richard Watson of the Future Exploration Network. His comments also reflect the emergence of mobile banking, where people would rather do their banking transactions in the comforts of their own home rather than in an office.
However, the formula is not foolproof. Financial services group Superwoman is yet to gain traction despite opening a head office in the Sydney CBD that is decked out in funky furniture and had planners available after work hours or during lunchtime, supposedly ideal for the CBD’s female workers.
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