Wells Fargo’s new ATMs does more than dispense cash

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Travelers stopping by the ATM at Wells Fargo’s newly relocated branch at Eppley Airfield can expect to get a lot more out of the machine than a handful of $20 bills.

They could get a handful of $1 bills, for instance, or any other denomination except for $50. And they could even start a loan application.

All this without ever standing in a teller line.

The branch at Omaha’s airport is home to one of 48 next-generation Wells Fargo ATMs around the nation that are designed to communicate with bankers staffed to help with more complex transactions should a customer need help, the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/1dA9UDO ) reported.

“It’s about connectivity and it’s about engagement,” said Kirk Kellner, president of Wells Fargo’s Nebraska region. “That’s what we’re doing here.”

That engagement goes beyond mere banking transactions.

Kellner, for instance, got a surprise reminder about his wife’s June birthday a few weeks ago from one of the bank’s ATMs.

That’s not to say Kellner forgot about the date. Still, the medium through which the reminder was delivered struck him.

Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the United States, has been experimenting with increasingly advanced technology and more compact retail locations for a few years as it seeks to optimize the space it occupies in more dense urban areas.

Infill locations especially can limit the size and scope of a build-out or relocation, so the bank has tested new concepts in places like Washington, D.C.

Features include the ability to cash a check using a digital image instead of a paper copy, movable walls and check stands that flip open and convert to teller stations.

Technology like that in the new ATM also lets customers who would rather serve themselves conduct routine transactions like cash withdrawals, balance transfers and loan applications.

Instead of getting cash from the machine and then waiting in a teller line to break it into smaller bills, the new ATM dispenses up to 40 bills at once to help with travel-related expenses like parking fees.

But if a traveler hits his or her daily withdrawal limit or risks an overdraft, help is only a touch away: bankers are equipped with tablet computers that display the bank’s entire relationship with whichever customer is using the ATM.

“Even if your child’s accounts are not linked to the specific debit card you’re using, our bankers can see they are linked to your account,” Kellner said.

Instead of forcing customers to drive to the bank’s nearest “traditional” location to do business, Wells Fargo bankers like Ashley Austin are also equipped to train customers how to conduct their banking business from home, again heightening the convenience factor.

Research presented to investors by bank officials in 2014 found that about two-thirds of the bank’s customers use two or more channels, such as mobile banking and ATMs, in addition to brick-and-mortar establishments.

To be sure, Wells Fargo is not alone in directing its customers toward more so-called “cross-channel” banking experiences.

First National Bank of Omaha tests new concepts and practices at a designated prototype branch at 84th and Frederick Streets. From that location, officials have tested and rolled out interactive kiosks for customers who might come into a branch to help themselves and then realize they need more help than they thought.

Smaller branches are not the rule, however; there’s no getting around the need for parking at a suburban bank branch, for example.

Arbor Bank in late 2014 moved into a renovated former real estate office building. At 12,000 square feet, that location is more than 10 times the size of the relatively miniature retail space Wells Fargo just moved into at the airport.

But just as Arbor Bank officials bet on the prime real estate and high visibility afforded by that bank’s newest location, so did Wells Fargo officials at their relocated airport branch.

Eppley Airfield reported 4.1 million passengers in 2014, or more than 11,000 people every day, on average.

Moving from an out-of-the-way space on the second floor to a well-lit location right in the middle of the airport’s lobby means Wells Fargo also benefits from higher visibility and foot traffic.

Kellner and Austin said customers benefit in the way of convenience.

Stepping up to the new ATM means they can withdraw money and skip having to wait in a teller line to break a larger bill, and the central location on the ground floor makes the branch a potential stop for both incoming and outgoing travelers.

“Lots of customers, especially in this airport location, are looking for this quickness,” Austin said.

___

Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com