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Though online banking continues to gain in popularity, there are times when it may be necessary or preferable to visit your bank’s branch in person.
With the threat of COVID-19 shutting down businesses across the country, banking has not been immune. Numerous banks and credit unions, from some of the nation’s largest financial institutions to smaller community banks, in March began shifting to drive-through-only services for customers.
Now, with all 50 states in various stages of reopening, you may be wondering what branch banking will look like going forward. Even if you only rarely visit your bank’s branches—preferring instead to do your banking online, by phone or at ATMs—it’s helpful to know what you can expect as the coronavirus crisis moves through its next phases in the U.S.
Banks and credit unions are considered part of the “essential business” category, meaning that, despite shutdown orders, they were not required to close. But many financial institutions took the initiative to put measures in place to protect both customers and staff from coronavirus community spread. Those measures have included:
In a poll conducted by Boston Consulting Group, just 3% of Americans said they would stop using branch banking altogether in response to the coronavirus pandemic. By comparison, globally, 24% of banking customers said they would be less likely to visit a branch. With demand for branch banking continuing, banks and credit unions will have to rethink how they handle in-person visits from customers.
How banks and credit unions decide to handle reopening can vary from one financial institution to the next. The American Bankers Association has created a reopening matrix to help guide banks in their decision-making. The matrix offers guidance on things like:
These are guidelines, however, not hard-and-fast rules, and the ABA reminds banks that they should consult the laws in their state for guidance regarding things like social distancing and the wearing of masks.
But, looking ahead, it’s possible that branch banking could feature any of the following, once states begin to fully reopen:
The measures that you’ll see in banks may be similar to the ones retail stores and restaurants are introducing to keep both staff and customers safe. Banks and credit unions face an interesting challenge in trying to balance the needs of customers to do their banking in person while protecting the health of everyone involved.
Since banks are considered essential businesses and were able to use their own discretion in closing, the same is true for deciding when to reopen branches. In other words, it’s up to individual banks to decide when to move ahead with opening and how to do it.
That decision may be influenced by state guidelines for reopening. For example, in some states such as North Carolina, Phase One of reopening looked much the same as it did for businesses when stay-at-home orders first took effect. This meant continuing to limit customer access to branches and allowing people inside on an appointment-only basis.
Many banks have attempted to make managing accounts easier for customers during this time to help ease the side effects of not being able to visit a branch. Some of the measures banks have taken include:
The Federal Reserve also has announced an interim final rule to suspend the Regulation D limit on savings account withdrawals. Ordinarily, you’d be limited to making six withdrawals from a savings or money market account per month. But to make it easier for people to tap into savings, this restriction has been lifted by the federal government. However, it’s worth noting that banks can still choose to impose a fee for exceeding the monthly limit.
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered financial worries for many Americans. For example, you may be wondering how to budget your money if your only income is unemployment insurance. Or you may be wary of coronavirus scams that could target your online banking activity. So it’s natural to wonder whether your money is still safe when you can’t get to your bank’s nearest branch.
The good news is, your accounts are protected if you do business with an FDIC-insured bank. Regardless of what your bank’s operating plans look like during the coronavirus crisis, your deposits are still protected up to the FDIC limit of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
That coverage still applies if for some reason your bank ends up closing permanently because of COVID-19’s financial impact. In the event of a bank closing or failure, the FDIC can step in and take control of the bank and its customer accounts. When that happens, your account can either be transferred to another bank or the FDIC will send you a check for the amount of your covered deposits.
If you’re not sure what’s covered and what’s not, the FDIC offers a helpful tool for determining your coverage. And if you keep your money at a credit union instead of a bank, you should be covered by National Credit Union Association insurance. The NCUA extends the same type of coverage to credit union accounts as the FDIC does for bank accounts.
With bank branch reopenings still a question mark, it’s helpful to know what your options are for managing your checking, savings and other accounts in the meantime.
Banking by phone is one option, and it’s a service most banks offer. With phone banking, you’re typically able to check balances, pay bills and schedule transfers between accounts. That’s similar to what you can do with your accounts at the ATM. Using the ATM to manage your accounts can be useful if you need to withdraw or deposit cash or to deposit checks.
Online and mobile banking may be the most convenient way to manage your bank accounts during COVID-19 or any other situation where getting to a branch isn’t possible. With online and mobile banking, you can do things like:
You can’t deposit cash using online and mobile banking; you’ll still need to visit a branch or an ATM for that. But otherwise, online and mobile banking can cut down on the need to visit a branch as often. All of these features can make banking convenient and easy, easing some of the financial stress you may be feeling as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
If you haven’t signed up for online and/or mobile banking yet, your bank may be able to help you with that over the phone. Banks typically offer online and mobile banking free of charge to their customers. When using online and mobile banking, remember to review things like ACH or wire transfer limits, direct deposit limits and mobile check deposit limits to see how much you can add to or withdraw from your account daily, weekly or monthly.
While there are still occasions when you’ll need or want the services of a brick-and-mortar bank location—whether for handling cash, getting advice or accessing a safe deposit box—the past months of the COVID-19 crisis have shown U.S. consumers just how effective mobile and online banking services can be in meeting a variety of customer needs.