Page 24 - BusinessWest December 21, 2020

Banks
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face-to-face.
“Some of our customers need to
come in every day, such as small- business people who need coin and currency to run their shops,” said Kate Megraw, chief operating officer and chief information officer for New Val- ley Bank and Trust. This past summer, while adhering to all safety and clean- ing protocols, New Valley’s lobbies stayed busy.
“As a new bank, we are in a growth mode right now, so we were trying to make it easy for customers to come in and open accounts,” she noted. With renewed limits on lobby access, she now encourages appointments as well as the drive-up location at the 16 Acres branch.
Drive-up banking has gone from a routine convenience to a vital service as customers bring more complex transactions to the drive-up window than in the past. It’s one way both bank customers and employees had to adjust to a new environment back in the spring — and may have to adjust again.
Striking a Balance
As branches reopened over the summer, loan activity related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ramped up as as well, Megraw said, providing another opportunity.
“The PPP allowed us to touch a lot of local businesses in Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut,” she added, noting that, through the PPP, New Valley arranged more than 500 small- business loans totaling nearly $90 million.
With branches retreating to a less- accessible time, the challenge now is to strike the right balance between giving people the time they need and keeping the line of cars in the drive-thru mov- ing. Along with placing experienced tellers at the window, O’Connor said, other branch staff speak with people as they approach the drive-up to make sure they have their materials at the ready to make their visit more efficient.
UMassFive recently converted a drive-up ATM machine at its Hadley branch to a video teller. As a comple- ment to the two existing drive-up tell- ers, the video teller provides a third option that reduces long lines and still maintains the personal touch.
“It gives our members an additional way to talk to a live person without having to come into the branch or get out of their car,” Boivin said. Installed in two other branch foyers, he added, video tellers have really caught on as usage has tripled just this fall.
Herman said Freedom recently launched video chat as part of its online offerings and said it’s the next best thing to an in-person meeting. “It gives people a chance to see us and talk to us. It’s face-to-face communica- tion even though they are not physi-
24 DECEMBER 21, 2020
BANKING & FINANCE
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