Eurobank branch network goes ‘phygital’
Eurobank is introducing rolling cash desk operating hours in its branches with the aim of further familiarizing its customers with automatic transaction and payment machines – ATMs and APS – and the digital networks through which 97% of the bank’s transactions are already being carried out.
The new opening hours, which had previously applied only to 13 branches, provide this service over the counter at specific times of the day and not during the entire operation of the branch. The program, which began in pilot phase in parts of the capital and Thessaloniki in northern Greece, is expanding as of this week to 70 out of the bank’s total 270 branches in different parts of country. In these, the public will be served from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the counter and at the automatic transaction machines, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. exclusively on machines and from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the counter and the machines.
The operation of counters for the public at specific times of the day is part of the “phygital” model adopted by Eurobank, that is, personal contact (physical) with the customer using digital capabilities. As bank sources explain, the new branch operation model does not aim to limit the network, but to free branch staff from procedures and transactions that can be done electronically and therefore focus on providing advisory support for customers, whether it is for businesses or individuals.
Based on the data, more than 600,000 cash transactions are carried out per day through digital channels, while, on average, 116,000 customers are served per hour. At the annual level, approximately 304 million e-banking and m-banking logins are recorded and 94% of all payments and transfers were made through digital channels.
The result of the shift to digital banking is the fact that in 2021, 20,000 product sales were completed through the digital box, 18,500 professionals, 6,000 personal banking customers and 3,500 private customers of the bank were served through virtual banking – the service that gives customers access to a personal advisor via video call – while in the category of fast loan products, seven out of 10 consumer loan applications at bank level are made via e-Banking and also via mobile, through the Eurobank Mobile App.
