How Technology Will Change Banking at New Grow Financial in Wesley Chapel

This story was written and reported by Patch Local Editor Ashley Reams.

Smartphones and tablets are changing the way people bank, which has led Grow Financial Federal Credit Union to embrace new technology.

When its newest branch opens at 2579 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel in September, customers will see touch screens and video conferencing as opposed to teller lines and waiting areas.

“Technology has found it’s way into banking,” said Bob Fisher, president and CEO of Grow Financial. “We’re responding to these changes—we’re adapting.”

Customers are doing most of their banking online, and when they come into the Wesley Chapel branch, a staff of five or six will help them with everything from cashing checks to applying for loans.

“I think it’s a higher level of service,” Fisher said. They won’t have to stand in line for a teller or wait on a couch for a loan officer because the staff is trained to handle all specialties.

Perhaps the biggest change customers will see is in the drive through.

Traditionally, customers place checks or other notes in capsules and send them through a tube to a teller inside the bank.

At the new Wesley Chapel branch, customers will be helped by employees at Grow Financial’s head office in Brandon via machines with video screens. If a customer is depositing a check, he or she will place it in the machine, which takes  an image of the check and disburses cash, similar to an ATM. Customers will be able to talk to tellers or member service representatives on the video screens.

“This concept is really, really different,” Fisher said.

All of Grow Financial’s ATMs are able to accept check deposits, and an image of the check is printed on the customer’s receipt.

“Additionally, if you do a transaction in one of our branches, we now have the capability to email your receipt to you, just like the Apple store does,” Fisher said. “Saves paper cost and is way better for the environment.”

Grow Financial has been in Tampa since 1955 and operates 20 branches in the Tampa Bay area. The 3,600-square-foot Wesley Chapel branch will be its 21st. The company is also expanding into South Carolina and Georgia, Fisher said.

It has more than 3,000 members already in the Wesley Chapel area, who are patronizing other locations.

“This gives them a place that’s a lot closer,” Fisher said.

Wesley Chapel’s steady development was also a draw for the company. Fisher pointed to nearby Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and The Shops at Wiregrass as examples. He also talked about Raymond James Financial’s and Pasco-Hernando Community College’s plans for expansion in the area.

“We just see that as a growing market,” he said.