Digital banking moved transactions online and left the difficult conversations in the branch.
Payments, transfers and balance checks migrated to the app years ago. What remains in branches is onboarding, disputes, complex products, corporate service and anything requiring verified identity or a signature, which are precisely the interactions that consume the most staff time per customer. Complaint handling attracts regulatory scrutiny, so cases must be traceable from first contact to resolution, with evidence of what was said. Meanwhile, customers who bank on a mobile phone evaluate every service delay against a digital standard, and mis-selling and conduct expectations mean that interaction quality cannot be assessed on a small sample.