Bank test-drives "smart-banking" branches in Japan

Citibank Japan has opened two retail banking branches in Tokyo that it describes as the world's first "smart-banking" outlets.

The new branches - in the upmarket Nihombashi and Marunouchi districts of the city - opened Monday and employ state-of-the-art technology to provide customers with a service that is tailored to their needs, the company said.

The facilities include interactive touch panels, a large wall display - measuring 2.8 meters by 4.3 meters - that provides constantly updated market data and financial news as well as 24-hour automatic cash dispensing machines that are also equipped with a videoconference facility to assist its customers.

The innovations are catching the attention of a nation of consumers that are not used to the application of user-friendly technology in their domestic banks.

The average Japanese bank, for example, turns off its ATMs in the evening and charges customers to access their money. Internet banking is a relatively new phenomenon here, while emphasis is placed on filling out numerous forms and applying a "hanko," or personal seal, to all paperwork.

For many, this labor-intensive and inflexible system - added to the notoriously poor interest rates that Japanese banks offer to savers - means that a lot of people here choose to keep their assets stashed under that mattress at home.

"We are confident that the opening of our new branches will represent the start of an exciting new way of consumer banking for our customers in Japan," said Darren Buckley, president and CEO of the Japan arm of the US-based bank.

"Citibank strives to be the most client-centric and innovative company in our industry and we are continuously looking for new and better ways to serve our customers," he added.

He added that if the model is successful, the company intends to roll it out to the Citibank network around the world.

Japan was chosen as the testing ground for the system, Buckley said, because of the problems that Citibank itself has had with paperwork. At present, there are more than 100 different forms at each branch of the bank in Japan. Another reason for targeting Tokyo was because of the widespread application and acceptance of innovation and digitization in everyday life.

"It is a market where consumers are demanding and the quality standards are incredibly high," he said. "If we can be successful in this market, we can be successful anywhere."

JR