"Don't Wait in Line at the Bank"... Commercial Banks Fully Implement Reservation Services

Woori Bank to Implement 'One-Time Consultation' from the 5th
All Five Major Banks Offer 'Branch Reservation' Service
Increased Efficiency for Staff Tasks and Customer Time

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] Office worker Juhyun Young (36, pseudonym) recently decided to visit a bank for a loan consultation. However, she was worried whether the process could be completed within her lunch break, as the waiting time and consultation duration were expected to be considerable. After sharing her concerns with a colleague, she learned about a service that allows visits by appointment. Using a mobile application (app), she was able to visit the bank at 11:30 a.m., when her lunch break started, and complete the consultation smoothly.

The image of long queues at bank counters, which used to come to mind first, is now expected to become a thing of the past. This is because major commercial banks have fully introduced counter reservation services. Bank branches have now entered an era where customers can visit by appointment, similar to hospitals.

According to the financial sector on the 5th, Woori Bank began implementing the ‘One-Time Reservation Consultation Service’ from that day, allowing customers to select the branch and time for consultation without waiting. A key feature of this service is that the bank does not have to process the reserved customer's tasks in the order of waiting.

Visits to branches can be made from the next business day after the application date up to 5 business days later, and most counter services such as deposits, funds, retirement pensions, loans, and foreign exchange are available. This service is implemented at Woori Bank’s 580 branches nationwide.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A Woori Bank official explained, "It will provide customers with a new experience by enabling quick consultations without waiting time," adding, "We plan to upgrade the service so that customers of other banks can also make visit reservations through the mobile app in the future."

With Woori Bank’s implementation, all five major commercial banks now offer branch visit reservation services. Although the names of the services differ slightly by bank, they share the common feature that customers can select their preferred time and branch.

KB Kookmin Bank operates the ‘Smart Reservation Consultation System,’ which allows customers to designate their branch visit. It has also introduced a ‘Pre-Write’ service, enabling customers to fill out necessary documents on a tablet PC during the waiting time for bank services.

Shinhan Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank also provide branch visit reservation services through their apps. Hana Bank reduces waiting times for branch visitors through ticket issuance and the ‘Smart Counter Plus’ service.

Recently, some branches have started operating exclusively by 100% reservation. Shinhan Bank’s Seoul Seosomun Digilog Branch is a representative example. Considering the high number of office workers visiting, all consultation services are operated by reservation only, enabling swift processing.

The main reason major commercial banks have been introducing reservation consultation services one after another is analyzed to be the improvement of employee work efficiency. This is interpreted as a response to the environment where bank counter workloads could increase due to the sharp decrease in the number of branches over the past few years. The number of branches of the five major commercial banks dropped significantly from 4,721 at the end of June 2018 to 4,380 at the end of June this year.

A banking industry official said, "Reservation consultation services are a clever solution that can catch two rabbits: customers’ time efficiency and employees’ work efficiency," adding, "It is also expected to have the effect of dispersing risks such as concerns about group infections amid the COVID-19 situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.