Customers at some branches are experiencing inconvenience due to a shortage of bank tellers and shortened business hours. Dozens of customers who visited a commercial bank branch in Seongbuk-gu during the daytime on weekdays are waiting for their turn. [김유신 기자]“It’s crazy to have to wait over an hour for a simple banking job.”
Recently, during lunchtime on a weekday, the branch of Bank A, located in a residential area in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, had no time to step with customers waiting for their turn. Customers were sitting close to each other on the waiting chairs in the branch, and customers who might not find a seat were standing in an empty space and rolling their feet. There were 30 people who took a waiting ticket and waited for their turn, but only 2 out of 4 individual customer service counters were in operation. One employee was on vacation and the other was away for lunch. One customer raised his voice, saying, “People are waiting like this, shouldn’t other employees come and run more windows?”
Recently, at some branches of commercial banks, the windows are not working properly, and consumers are experiencing inconvenience.
This is because the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased once more and the number of responding staff has decreased significantly as the holiday season overlaps. Even though social distancing has been lifted, banks are still insisting on shortening their business, which is a factor that increases customer inconvenience. As more people use financial services through non-face-to-face channels, the number of customers visiting bank branches is decreasing. However, some branches are still crowded with visiting customers. The main reason is that banks have drastically cut branches to cut costs. According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 14th, as of the end of last year, the number of domestic bank branches stood at 6,094, down 311 from the previous year. Compared to five years ago, the number has decreased by more than 1,000.
While the closure of stores is accelerating, bank stores in areas where the elderly mainly live are seeing customers flock to them. According to the Financial Services Commission, only 8.9% of the elderly in their 70s or older use mobile banking. In addition, more than half (53.8%) of the elderly preferred to withdraw cash through the window. In fact, an elderly customer who visited the branch on that day asked an employee to exchange 50,000 won bills for 10,000 won bills.
One of the factors contributing to the crowding of branches is the increase in the number of confirmed employees due to the recent re-spread of COVID-19. An official from a branch of Bank A, who received complaints from customers on that day, explained, “As some of the nearby branch employees were confirmed with Corona 19, the branch was not operating properly, so more customers came to our branch and the waiting time was longer.”
The fact that banks are continuing to shorten their business even following social distancing has been lifted is also a factor in consumer dissatisfaction. Before the spread of COVID-19, bank stores were open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, as COVID-19 spreads and social distancing is enforced, the bank’s business hours have been shortened by one hour to 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Although social distancing was lifted in April, the bank’s shortened business continues. Even if the quarantine guidelines were lifted from the collective agreement in October last year, discussions for normalization have not taken place following the financial union made adjustments to the reduction of business hours only through negotiations. The average annual salary of major commercial banks is over 100 million won, but the financial union came out with a general strike card demanding a 6.1% wage increase and 35 hours a week. The financial union plans to vote on whether or not to go on a general strike on the 19th.
Banks are looking for ways to alleviate customer inconvenience. Hana Bank is providing support by sending head office staff to branches that lack manpower. Other commercial banks group and manage 4 to 5 branches located in similar areas as a group and provide support for branches with insufficient manpower.
However, branches in the downtown area, where young people and office workers are concentrated, do not have many customers, so banks are deeply concerned. On the 12th, the branch of Bank A, located in Jung-gu, Seoul, had a dull atmosphere without visiting customers. One customer who received foreign exchange advice at the corporate counter was the only customer of this branch. A commercial bank official said, “It is not easy to come up with countermeasures because the situation at each branch is so extreme.”
[김유신 기자]
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