“Anything but boring” aims to be a branch of a Hessian savings bank that is specially tailored to young people. Is it all just a publicity stunt or is there more to it?
Skateboards as room dividers, a popcorn machine for snacking, stylish lamps on the ceiling. “Maxxs.Corner” doesn’t look like a Sparkasse branch. “From the outside you wouldn’t think that banking transactions are being done in here,” says new customer Michael. The 26-year-old came to the Sparkasse Bad Hersfeld branch for advice.
“Anything but boring,” promises “Maxxs” on the homepage. “We have banking equipment at eye level.” The advisors are called “buddies”. There are three in the branch in Bad Hersfeld in eastern Hesse: Justine Gleim (24), Raul Gonzalez (22) and Lena Sauer (21). You wear loose casual clothing to work. “We address customers by their first name and explain banking topics in simple words,” says Gleim. Gonzalez adds: “As a result, the inhibition threshold may no longer be as high and customers will dare to ask other things.”
“Snacks” and “Money Hacks”
Creative concepts like the one in Bad Hersfeld also exist elsewhere. “Branch was yesterday. Our smoney hub is already tomorrow,” is how Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf advertises a branch for young people, which, according to the homepage, offers not only “trendy coffee and snacks” but also “super practical money hacks and, of course, of course also the best financial advice in the city: “So, your place to be.”
Germany’s largest savings bank, Hamburg-based Haspa, has been experimenting with a city subtenant in the branch since the end of 2022: applying for a passport, registering a dog or picking up a fishing license – everything is possible between the statement printer and bank advice. In Hesse, two institutes from different camps have even joined forces: Frankfurter Volksbank and Taunus Sparkasse share 26 branches in order to be able to offer customers the broadest possible range of products.
“Speak as we would like to be spoken to”
Sparkasse Bad Hersfeld-Rotenburg opened the branch in the pedestrian zone of Bad Hersfeld, which is tailored to young people, a few weeks ago. There are no desks, everything is done using tablet computers and company cell phones. “We focus particularly on the topics that concern young people between 18 and 28, for example starting training, the first apartment, vacation abroad, first investment,” says team leader Torsten Schück (48).
Consultant Gleim emphasizes: Despite all the looseness in marketing, the advice is not flippant. Nobody is addressed as “age”. “And when talking to customers, I don’t say: Let’s talk about banking stuff,” says Gleim. “We speak to customers the way we would like to be spoken to.”
Wednesdays are social media day
On Wednesdays, the “Buddys” in Bad Hersfeld have a social media day: Then they produce posts for Tiktok and Instagram, where many teenagers and young adults get information. “Generation Z differs significantly from others in their wishes and needs, hence the idea of specifically meeting these wishes,” says Sparkasse board member Thomas Walkenhorst. “We want to create a bond with the Sparkasse early on and expand our market share.”
The development and equipment of the new branch “already cost a fair amount,” but the office is “not necessarily more expensive than other locations,” says Walkenhorst. “The initial reactions from customers show that we are on the right track.” If the success continues, it is possible that the existing location will be strengthened. Another location is also not unthinkable, says Walkenhorst.
Classic branch a discontinued model
Banks and savings banks have been tending to thin out their branch network in Germany for years. Because branches are expensive and less in demand in times of online banking, smartphone apps and video advice. At the end of 2022, the Bundesbank still had 20,446 branches with employees at private and cooperative banks as well as savings banks and state banks. Ten years ago there were just under 36,300.
Commerzbank private customer boss Thomas Schaufler sees the classic branch as an obsolete model: “In a few years you will hardly have any reason to come to a branch,” said Schaufler in December. “I believe that all banking topics will then be possible via the advice center and online channels.”
Savings banks have a public mission
The savings banks cannot afford too radical cuts. They are the only group of credit institutions in Germany with a public mandate: to provide people and companies in their region with financial and credit services. In October, the then DSGV President Helmut Schleweis warned: “A branch may no longer be profitable for itself. If they are closed on a scale that people no longer understand, this raises doubts as to whether we are still the representatives of the interests of the general population. “
In Hesse, the number of staffed Sparkasse branches continued to shrink last year: from 583 to 539, and there are also 330 (previous year: 334) self-service locations. The President of the Savings Banks and Giro Association of Hesse-Thuringia, Stefan G. Reuß, made it clear when the balance sheet was presented in February: “There is no political agenda that says: withdrawal from the area. On the contrary: we are trying everything to achieve this do so that we (…) continue to fulfill our regional responsibility and identity.” In view of the increase in ATM explosions, association managing director Sven Kießling added that it can sometimes be safer to “place a container with an ATM in a parking lot that is very easily accessible”.
Source: Stern
