Axis Bank rolling out ‘new look' branches

Given the high real estate costs and the convenience of online banking, a large bank branch may seem like a luxury. But banks are increasingly revamping their branches to attract and retain customers.

Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, is changing the layout and look of its branches.

“The idea is that people should feel attracted from outside to walk into a branch, which are brand ambassadors for the bank. They should have a nice experience and leave thinking ‘I am coming back'”, said Ms Manisha Lath Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank.

All new branches of Axis Bank opened after October sport the same look. By end-March there will about 150 ‘new look' branches.

Some of cities where these branches have been opened are Pune, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Delhi. The latest is a three-storied branch in Juhu, in Mumbai.

All new branches are divided into three separate zones — the self-service zone, the retail area or the privilege lounge and the transaction area.

The self-service lobby houses ATMs, cheque drop boxes, note accepting machines and Internet banking kiosks. The idea is to show customers that a lot of the transactions could be carried out without entering the branch and at any time of the day.

“We want people to self serve themselves as much as they can. This helps us to speed up our services to the customer,” Ms Gupta said.

Priority lounge

The idea behind shifting the priority lounge or retail area to the centre of the branch is to showcase the bank's premium offerings. These spaces are structured to give customers privacy to hold discussions with relationship managers about their investments.

“We want people to see what they are missing and what they can potentially get if they upgrade to privilege segment,” Ms Gupta said.

The third area is the transaction area which has the tellers and customers who walk in only for transactions. This area tends to be crowded and hence is located at the back of the branch.

For instance, in the Juhu branch, this area is located in the basement.

Alternative channels

About banks' directing customers towards alternative channels such as ATM and Internet in order to cut transaction costs, Ms Gupta said, “We do want customers to come to the branch. But we want them to come for the right reasons. For instance, we want them to come for discussing their financial investment and not merely to withdraw Rs 5,000,” Ms Gupta said.

priyan@thehindu.co.in