For decades, the bank branch was a physical symbol of trust – solid walls, desks, and advisors who could guide clients to the right solutions, support decisions, or open doors to new financial opportunities. Scenes of marble walls and queues at teller windows to deposit or withdraw cash now belong to the past. What was once routine is gradually disappearing from the landscape.
The branch transformation also has a statistical dimension. The number of bank branch robberies in the U.S. fell from 7,465 in 2003 to 1,263 in 2023. Branches hold less cash, their networks continue to shrink, while the volume of transactions via mobile and digital channels grows rapidly.
This evolution has quietly reshaped modern banking: not through flashy innovations, but something subtler: the human need for conversation. Branches have become less transactional and more relational. Today, they are meeting spaces where agreements are signed, and future plans are discussed.
In this context, hybrid solutions are gaining importance as they develop alongside technological and cultural changes. Within this model, an advisor is “present” on a kiosk screen – visible and accessible to the client – while physically located elsewhere. Introduced quietly over two decades ago, this technology is experiencing a clear renaissance today.
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From Physical Presence to “Functional Presence”
Banks rarely ask whether to maintain branches anymore, as they have been optimizing branch networks for years. In the European Union, half of all bank branches have been closed since the 2008 peak. The key question now is different: what does a branch really mean today? If a client no longer needs a building to deposit cash or sign a contract, what is truly essential?
The answer is increasingly clear: functional presence. New branch formats are meeting spaces – without teller services but designed for conversation over coffee, advisory services, and relationship-building. It’s the bank’s ability to deliver expertise, advice, and knowledge exactly where the client is.
Video kiosks fill the space between traditional branches and fully digital service. On a footprint smaller than a standard office desk, they replicate the essence of the branch experience: identification, conversation, document exchange, signatures, and problem-solving. The branch stops being a location – it becomes a service.
Video Kiosks as Part of the Bank Network
Instead of maintaining local teams across multiple branches, which entails substantial organizational and cost resources, banks can “extend” their reach across the region, enabling virtual service for multiple locations. Kiosks introduce a completely new calculus for network operation. An advisor is not tied to one location but to a queue, switching between clients across the country, like a traffic controller. This approach, however, requires the right technological infrastructure.
In this context, hybrid solutions are gaining increasing importance as they evolve alongside technological and cultural shifts. In this model, the advisor is “present” on the kiosk screen – visible and accessible to the customer – while physically located elsewhere. Introduced quietly to the market more than two decades ago, kiosks are now undergoing a noticeable renaissance.
The second type of kiosk is more advanced, combining traditional branch functions with automation. In addition to video advisory support, these kiosks enable full client identification, electronic contract signing, document printing, cash withdrawals, and card issuance, providing clients with comprehensive service in a single compact location.
Integrated with kiosks, the LiveBank system has enabled clients such as Sampath Bank and Piraeus Bank to achieve:
- 99% automation of cash services,
- full end-to-end account opening,
- 90% reduction in card issuance time,
- 24/7 service availability,
- automated queuing and multi-segment client handling.
| LiveBank + Smart Kiosks | ||
| Key Benefits Delivered to Clients, such as Sampath Bank and Piraeus Bank | ||
| Area | Result | Customer & Operational Impact |
| Cash services | 99% of transactions automated | Reduced branch congestion, optimized staff allocation |
| Account opening | End-to-end digital process | Faster onboarding, improved customer experience |
| Card issuance | 90% reduction in issuance time | Shorter waiting times, quicker access to funds |
| Availability | 24/7 service access | Banking beyond standard branch hours |
| Customer flow | Automated queuing & multi-segment handling | Efficient service routing and better resource allocation |
How Video Kiosks Are Transforming Customer Experience
Although users have largely shifted to mobile apps, the data is clear – when risk is involved, such as mortgages, investments, or complaints, clients seek out human interaction. Importantly, “human interaction” doesn’t necessarily mean meeting face-to-face.
Video advisory kiosks address a fundamental psychological need: a sense of presence and connection. The client can see and hear the advisor, receive real support, while the entire process remains digital. It’s a digital recreation of the most essential elements of branch service, without a physical branch.
This need for relational anchoring is precisely what makes the solution popular across different cultures and economies – from Europe to Asia and emerging markets.
Regulations, Risk, and a New Dimension of Trust
The development of kiosks is not only a response to evolving customer expectations but also to increasing regulatory requirements. Identity verification, fraud prevention, and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures – all of these areas now demand a precise balance of security and convenience.
Kiosks create a fully controlled operational environment: certified devices, monitored processes, standardized workflows, video supervision, and electronic signatures.
In practice, this often provides a higher level of consistency and security than traditional branches, where process outcomes rely more on staff decisions, and documentation is in physical form.
A Quiet Revolution in Customer Journeys
Video advisory kiosks are not just another contact channel; they’re a tool that allows banks to redesign entire processes and introduce new operational logic:
- Onboarding is no longer a paper ritual but a structured, fully digital experience.
- Advisory conversations are freed from geographic limitations – experts can assist clients from anywhere.
- Specialists can be shared remotely across branches, improving the efficiency of expertise utilization.
- Service is no longer strictly tied to branch opening hours.
This change is happening quietly, yet it’s fundamentally redefining how customer journeys are designed. It’s a dismantling of the traditional branch and rebuilding it in a more flexible, modular form.
The narrative of the “end of branches” as we knew them would be overly reductive. In reality, the process is far more complex. There will be fewer branches – smaller, specialized, and designed around specific competencies. At the same time, paradoxically, the number of contact points will increase: in shopping centers, train stations, small towns, partner locations, offices, and campuses. Mobility is no longer a barrier – a kiosk can be relocated wherever there is real demand.
Summary: Forecasting the Future of Banking with Digital Communication Channels
If the ATM was the first mechanical extension of branch teller functions, the video advisory kiosk is the first digital extension of the branch’s expertise – knowledge, advice, and problem-solving capabilities. Looking toward 2026 and beyond, banking experts may ask a different question: not “How many branches do we have?” but “In how many locations can a client truly speak with us, without our physical presence?” This shift in perspective is already underway, and it’s precisely what is reshaping the future of banking customer touchpoints.
