Key Findings include:

• 61% use social media for personal purposes, followed by business, self promotion and for doing social good
• The top three blogging topics are Latino Issues (45%), followed by Social Good and Education
• The mayority (48%) prefer to shop online
• Price is the biggest driver at the time of purchase
• Their reasons for blogging vary by individual, but a common thread is their deep connection to their community and their faith in the power of blogging as a tool for change
• The overwhelming majority described Education as the top priority Latino issue, followed by Health and Jobs

Many banks are behind the ball reaching out to the Hispanic Market. Social media offers a medium which they can use to penetrate this market and benefit from  this savvy consumer.

My first reaction was that this was a security move. Stuffing a robbery note in the canister and holding a gun on the monitor screen would be a great audition for “World’s Dumbest Criminals”. Then I realized that from the CU’s perspective it is also a great way to improve productivity.

I wonder, however, if the customers think there is a down side from their perspective? Doesn’t bother me as a customer at all but then I like technology. In fact, I think they should kick it up a notch and add document imaging so I can deposit cash, checks and other documents directly into the machine to be scanned. This would mean that the teller could be anywhere, not just tied to the other end of the tube. You could be in Baltimore and they could be in Miami. Well, that’s a little extreme but they could all be in one place somewhere. Additonally, the  job of teller staffing and scheduling, something Daniel Penn Associates is directly involved with as a software supplier, would be a whole lot easier.  I thnk the tellers would like it, too.

So tell me, would you be upset to see personal teller machines in your bank or credit union?

“Today, consumers are comfortable using a range of digital technologies to manage their lives and expect to be able to manage their finances in a similar way,” said Elton Birden, NCR’s Managing Director for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. “Banks must respond to these demands or risk losing business.”

Speed and ease of access to financial services such as payment deposits are key priorities for consumers, according to NCR’s research. Of those surveyed, over a third (39 per cent) were keen to experience shorter lines at the teller counter, with 31 per cent demanding online, ATM or mobile bill payment services.

But despite a desire to manage their banking needs autonomously, people still want to discuss their finances face to face with a consultant, the study found. Three quarters of those surveyed claimed the ability to pre-book an appointment with a financial consultant online, via a mobile device or ATM kiosk would be useful.

Check out the rest of the article (too long to post here) at http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/banks-that-ignore-innovative-technology-risk-losing-customers,1065440.shtml.

Vijay asks, “Why can’t tellers be sellers?” He’s asking an important question for retail banking. “Are branches retail storefronts with the primary mission to enhance customer relationships, or are they collection points for myriad transactions processed by centralized back office operations centers? Is the driving imperative one of customer intimacy, or does operational efficiency rule the roost?” He goes on to make the point that tellers may be tethered to the role of front line operations clerk by virtue of their part in the “paper factory”. The way out of this, writes Vijay, is to embrace the rapidly expanding imaging and recognition technology that has made Teller Capture not only possible but profitable. One of the benefits of this new technology is a dramatic reduction if the workload for tellers. But that also raises a new question,”…what do you do with the saved time? Do you use it to push even more transactions through? Do you have tellers refer customers to other branch personnel based on prompts from an integrated CRM system? Or do you have tellers take on more of a sales and service role themselves? Those are decisions that will be driven by your overarching strategic intent. Do you want tellers to be sellers in the first place? As you ponder that question, you may want to look at teller capture as an opportunity to cut the transaction tether that keeps pulling you back, yo-yo-like, to the paper factory of another era.”

We encourage you to read the whole piece (too long to post here).

We at Daniel Penn have recognized the changing role of the teller from transaction processor to relationship builder and seller (NOT hard selling, mind you, but promotion and targeted recommendations for customers who could benefit from a new or different product mix). Our BRANCHEssentials teller staffing model is built on this. We’d like to hear from you about tellers-as-sellers and how it might be working in your bank.