Bank of America has unveiled its plans to modernize an additional 1,500 of its financial centers in the US over the next three years, of which 500 will be refurbished in the course of this year.
Image: Bank of America will refurbish 500 financial centers in the US in 2019. Photo: courtesy of Bank of America Corporation.
Overall, Bank of America would have modernized more than 2,500 financial centers across the US given that it had already worked on over 1,000 financial centers in the last three years.
The multinational investment bank, which will also modernize its entire ATM network, plans to renovate the financial centers with new technology and layouts. The modernization aims at creating a more interactive, comfortable and inviting atmosphere for its clients.
In 2018, Bank of America revealed that it was working on opening more than 500 new financial centers across its US network. In line with that, the investment bank opened 150 new centers in the last three years and has plans to open over 350 centers in the next three years, of which 90 will be opened in 2019, with several of them to come up in new markets.
The financial services giant is also taking up ATM enhancements and expansion, under which, it plans to enhance more than 2,700 ATMs in its network in the next three years.
For the year 2019, the banking group will wrap up a multiyear work on upgrading its existing network of over 16,000 ATMs. Under this effort, the bank’s ATMs will be equipped with the latest technology to enable customers to carry out more types of transactions, such as making credit card payments, selecting their preferred mix of bills when withdrawing cash.
The bank also has plans to introduce cardless access to accounts at ATMs by just using a mobile device.
Bank of America consumer and small business president Dean Athanasia said: “Designing the best client experience is a continuous process, and we’ve made great progress these last few years.
“Although more clients are using our digital banking capabilities, many still visit our centers for in-person conversations about some of their more complex financial needs. Our redesigned centers make it easy for them to access banking, lending, small business and investing professionals for tailored solutions and advice on their life priorities and financial goals.”
The bank said that it will continue to expand its retail banking business by opening around 30 centers in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, in the next two years, starting from this summer.
The company, which is also looking to expand into Cleveland, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky in 2020, expects the overall expansion in new and existing markets to generate close to 5,500 jobs.