Mini-Branch

What Is a Mini-Branch?

A mini-branch, otherwise called a convenience branch, is a special type of bank branch that offers just a limited scope of services to its customers.

Mini-branches are normally more modest than conventional branch areas, and they are in many cases situated in staple or discount stores. While certain mini-branches offer access to tellers, many function just through automated teller machines (ATMs).

Figuring out Mini-Branches

Mini-branches commonly offer an undeniably more limited scope of services than traditional bank branches. For example, they regularly don't take applications for loans or [mortgages](/home loan) or offer other specialized services. All things considered, their primary spotlight is on deposit and withdrawal services, frequently utilizing ATMs. Mini-branches are situated in areas where customers are probably going to require these services, for example, supermarkets, department stores, and shopping centers.

Now and again, be that as it may, banks will try to minimize their overheads by opening mini-branches in neighborhoods where retail space is particularly costly. For instance, Wells Fargo (WFC) works a 1,000 square-foot mini-bank in Washington, D.C., which shuns private offices for an open floor plan. This office is intended to augment the limited floor space. For example, walls can be unfurled at night to close off parts of the mini-branch, confining customer access to ATMs.

In part, the utilization of mini-branches is driven by changing consumer inclinations. Wells Fargo led research which found that 80% of active branch users didn't need a teller to assist them with finishing their in-branch transactions. As customers progressively go to online and mobile banking platforms to satisfy their banking needs, the job of conventional bank branches might keep on diminishing.

Cost Savings of Mini-Branches

While a traditional bank branch requires 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of retail space and a lot of administrative center administrative work, a mini-branch requires something like 1,000 square feet and may utilize technology to dispose of the requirement for administrative center work. Since mini-branches require less tellers and staff, operating expenses are around 50 to 60% of those for a traditional bank branch.

Genuine Example of a Mini-Branch

One particularly prominent illustration of a mini-branch is worked by Windsor Federal Savings. This particular mini-bank is situated in John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Windsor, Connecticut. It is unique in offering savings account services and illustrations on financial literacy for the neighborhood school children, with special accentuation on the significance of saving.

Features

• Mini-branches have become more famous as customers become less dependent on in-person services given by bank tellers.
• They are much of the time situated where customers could have to pull out cash, for example, at supermarkets and supermarkets.
• Mini-branches are more modest forms of bank branches, which offer a pared-down scope of services.