BANKING
September 12, 2022 | CHRISTIAN KARGER
New construction methods, materials and designs make mini branches flexible and sustainable.
Whether rectangular or round, modular or made of concrete, with bright advertising panels or an insect hotel for a façade, featuring a consulting room or a viewing platform –mini branches are as individual as financial institutions: sustainable, cost-effective, and real eye-catchers for the branch network.
Nine out of ten mini branches are set up at a location where a branch has been closed. They maintain the bank’s local presence and ensure a local supply of cash, while keeping the brand present in people’s minds.
Comprehensive service from the specialists: site analysis and design workshop
The road to a mini branch should begin with a site analysis. There are several fundamental questions to consider. Are you building on a greenfield site, a parking lot, or on open space in an inner-city area? Is a lean solution with an outdoor ATM an option, or are you looking at a self-service branch with a lobby or a drive-up kiosk? Is planning permission required? Next, you need to establish which self-service devices are required. The number, type and service scope of these units are crucial factors before moving forward.
In the design workshop that follows, it’s time to focus on the specifics. It’s all about the desired mini branch model, its position on the site, the placement of advertising panels, doorways, windows, the color and materials of the façade, and, of course, the interior design. In recent years, Diebold Nixdorf’s architecture and interior design experts have repeatedly come up with new, modular and, notably, sustainable solutions.
Mini branches – solutions fit for the future
Rheingauer Volksbank, for example, has built a mini branch on the banks of the Rhine in Eltville. Inside, there’s space for two ATMs from the new DN Series™ family, and the brand message is displayed on the façade with customized foil coating. A UV finish prevents its colors from fading over time. At night, a surrounding LED strip under the offset parapet bathes the cube in light.
Sparkasse Rhein-Nahe is proud of its self-service branch in Waldböckelheim. Built on an elevated site on a main road next to a new retail park, the impressive 30m2 mini branch is visible from afar and has enough space to accommodate the full range of conventional self-service solutions: ATMs, cash recyclers, and a self-service terminal. There’s even space to install a telepresence system for video consulting going forward, ensuring that this location is equipped to meet the demands of the future.
