While consumer use of branches might be declining across the UK, some credit unions are still looking to video banking and conferencing as a means of still delivering the human touch. In the latest announcement, Yorkshire Building Society will begin offering its customers financial advice in their own homes via live video conferencing (but only during working hours).
The new video service will allow customers and bank representatives to securely share information, meaning visits to the bank to discuss different financial products won’t be required. Commenting on the service, Simon Broadley, Head of Investments at Yorkshire Building Society, said,
“We know that many of our customers have very busy lives and it can be difficult to make time for investment advice due to their existing commitments. Technology has the power to instantly connect customers with a fully-qualified financial adviser – we want to ensure that making your money work for you is as easy as making a video call on a tablet.”
The move by Yorkshire Building Society follows an ongoing rollout of high definition video banking services at the UK’s largest building society, Nationwide that will eventually see video services installed at 400 branches across the country.
With the number of branches and branch staff declining across the UK, video services can be a cost effective and innovate means of delivering the human touch and keeping customers happy.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payment Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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