BankWest is turning banking on its head today, unveiling the first of 160 new-look retail stores to open nationally over the next three years. BankWest's retail-inspired stores invite customers to sip, surf, browse and relax while doing their banking, giving Australians a fresh alternative to the Big Four banks.
The first new BankWest stores are now open in the Sydney suburbs of Parramatta and Mount Druitt, and a further six New South Wales stores are set to open before the end of 2007 in Burwood, Bondi Junction, Hornsby, Miranda, Penrith and Chatswood.
BankWest is the first bank to offer full telling services seven days a week in the east. All new east coast stores will offer extended trading from 9am to 5.30pm weekdays, late night Thursdays to 9pm, 9am to 5pm Saturdays and 10am to 5pm Sundays.
The new BankWest stores break the traditional banking mould, ditching unfriendly teller barriers, frustrating customer queues and bland design in favour of comfortable and inviting open-plan spaces that feel more like a café than your local bank.
Customers can help themselves to a cup of freshly brewed coffee, browse books and other merchandise, surf the internet, listen to music, relax in lounge-style seating and keep the kids entertained with toys and DVDs - in addition to doing their banking.
In a first for banking in Australia, the new BankWest stores will sell a range of non-financial products. The range includes popular books on personal finance, property and investing, as well as home and office accessories such as money education tools for kids, wallets, address books, writing pads, business card-holders, key-rings and even piggy banks.
Other innovative features of the new BankWest stores include:
* Open teller pods - these replace traditional teller counters enclosed with anti-social glass safety barriers to provide friendlier and more accessible service, while remaining secure through the use of teller cash recyclers (TCRs).
* Inviting open-plan atmosphere - where banks are traditionally cold and sterile, the new stores have an open-plan design with funky retro elements, café-style music, warm lighting and earthy tones such as flooring made from recycled wine bottle corks.
* Sound masking - to ensure confidential customer conversations remain confidential, the stores employ a frequency of sound called pink noise to create a sound barrier from within each meeting room. Pink noise is commonly used across the US and Europe in open-plan offices and environments where privacy is key.
* Kids' entertainment - specially designed toy drawers are integrated into the store design, and LCD screens show kids' DVDs to keep them entertained while their parents are doing their banking.
* Coin counting machines - a quick and easy way for customers to bring in large amounts of coins, and have them counted and deposited into their account. The machines can count 600 coins in 60 seconds.
Commenting on BankWest's innovative retail-led approach, trend forecaster Richard Watson of the Future Exploration Network said: "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. BankWest is blurring the lines between banking and retailing."
BankWest Retail Chief Executive Ian Corfield said: "Until now, banking has been seen by most Australians as a tedious chore to be completed as quickly as possible. BankWest is changing all that and making banking a convenient and enjoyable experience.
"Today's announcement highlights what BankWest is all about - giving customers better access to better deals and a fresh alternative to the Big Four banks."
BankWest last week turned up the heat with the launch of a ground-breaking transaction account that pays 500 times more interest than transaction accounts offered by the Big Four . The BankWest Hero Transaction Account has no monthly fees and pays 5% pa interest on balances up to $5,000, compared to most transaction account interest rates of just 0.01% pa, provided customers deposit $2,000 per month (for example a regular salary deposit).
The BankWest Hero Transaction Account is expected to drive strong customer traffic to BankWest's new retail stores. Newspoll research commissioned by BankWest shows that nine in 10 Australians would consider switching banks for more competitive products and more convenient branch locations.
BankWest's Victorian stores are set to roll-out from early 2008, with the first location secured in the heart of Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall.
BankWest's new Western Australian stores will complement its existing 86 strong branch network in its home state. The first new store opens in Brighton early 2008, and the landmark BankWest Raine Square development in the Perth CBD is set for completion in 2009.
