Colorado Springs banks undergo transformation. Here’s what you will (and won’t) find.
Editor’s note: This story is corrected to note that KeyBank locations include drive-thru windows. Also, KeyBank opened its first new location in Colorado in 10 years.
Customers at one of Bank of America’s new branches in Colorado Springs won’t find drive-thru windows, safe-deposit boxes, teller lines or vaults.
Neither Bank of America nor KeyBank calls its locations branches — instead opting for financial centers or financial wellness centers to better describe the role the offices play in an era when most routine banking transactions happen online or through an ATM. While the number of branches operating locally has declined more than 20% since peaking at 211 in 2010, three were added this year as banks and credit unions continue to build new locations.
Bank of America has built four financial centers in Colorado Springs since late 2021 and will open a fifth location in the Broadmoor Towne Center in November. The North Carolina-based financial giant is seeking a location for a sixth center on El Paso County’s north side.
The locations feature hospitality areas with free coffee and snacks, offices for consumers to speak to financial-service advisers for investments and small-business bankers for loans or mortgage specialists for home lending.
“Our design is very sharp-looking and modern, to give an ‘Apple Store’ feel,” said Raju Patel, president of Bank of America’s Colorado operations.
“We need physical locations in addition to our digital capabilities, which we believe are the best in the industry. Our app gets high ratings and has a lot of functionality and includes Erica (named for the last five letters of America), a digital assistant that uses artificial intelligence to help consumers complete transactions.”
While Bank of America’s financial centers have a window for routine transactions, it is at the back of the location and is staffed by a single employee to assist customers with deposits, withdrawals or making loan payments. Patel said Bank of America has begun remodeling its financial centers in the Denver area to the current design used in its Colorado Springs branches, starting with its oldest branch, which opened in 2014 in the Cherry Creek area.
KeyBank opened its first financial wellness center in the Northgate area this summer, its first new location in Colorado in 10 years.
But KeyBank plans to remodel its four other Colorado Springs branches over the next several years to the same design as its newest location, said Andy Eberhard, the bank’s retail banking leader for Colorado Springs.
Remodeling is underway on KeyBank’s location at 5725 N. Academy Blvd. and will be followed by work on its location at 3085 S. Academy.
“We have great options for customers online, through ATMs and on the phone, so we created our financial wellness centers as a place for customers to get advice. Our bankers can do routine transactions, but they have more tools to offer advice,” Eberhard said.
“Every desk has a computer with two screens and one of those is a touchscreen so clients can tell us their (financial) goals and what is important to them and we can then help them achieve those goals.”
KeyBank’s emphasis on helping consumers meet their financial goals goes beyond the building and equipment.
The bank also has designed its loan and deposit accounts with features to help customer improve poor credit histories so that they are eligible for credit cards with higher limits and loans with lower interest rates.
One example: The bank offers mortgages for homes in low-income areas that don’t require a down payment or private mortgage insurance.
Small-business customers also can get bankers to come to them when they need a loan. Parker Harrison, manager of the new KeyBank center in Northgate, has made dozens of visits to small businesses during the past three years to learn more about what the bank can offer the customer.
Ent Credit Union, southern Colorado’s largest financial institution with nearly $10 billion in assets, hasn’t given up on using branches as a key part of serving its more than 500,000 members and attracting new members, said Rich Scholes, Ent’s chief experience officer.
While the credit union has slowed branch construction, it still plans to add three to five locations annually to reach new areas of Colorado Springs and extend its reach in Denver and northern Colorado.
“We won’t give up on providing in-person service when it is needed, such as when a member has a problem and wants to talk to someone face to face, or to help with a big life decision like starting to invest or buying a car or home,” Scholes said.
“Though we are seeing declines in in-person transactions, each of the segments of our membership uses service centers for different things, such as those who make frequent or daily transactions in cash.”
Financial wellness consultant Lauren Baki can do traditional transactions that a teller would do at her desk, but can also give financial advice. The new bank has no teller booths.
There are no tellers in the KeyBank location in the Northgate area on Colorado Springs’ north side. Financial wellness consultants such as George Barker can do traditional transactions as well as give financial advice.