One of our branches wants to remodel to an open concept and have a "hospitality bar" instead of a traditional teller line. There would be a hospitality bar which housed the tellers' drawers and it would also include a cash recycler. The only security would be locking the teller drawers when they weren't serving a customer and the cash recyclers would be under dual control to actually open the machine.

As an old school banker & auditor, this freaks me out. However, I'm trying to keep an open mind about how this will work but also how to ensure the safety of the employees along with implementing strong controls.

Does anyone have experience with the open branch concept and would you be willing to PM or call me to discuss what works well and what challenges you've encountered?

Thanks!

To me your controls should work the same no matter the layout of the branch. In our area a lot of banks are going to the open concept.

Thanks! I don't disagree that controls should definitely work the same. However, one of our controls included secured teller lines, which will not be part of their plan.

Do any of your locations use this new layout concept? I be interested in discussing what works well and what didn't go as planned.

thanks!

One issue we have is customers wanting to now be on the same side of the bar as the teller. It's difficult to maintain privacy when two tellers share one recycler and the customer wants behind the line. The tellers have had to become more assertive with boundaries, that's for sure.