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RBC ‘store’ aims for fresh take banking

Remove the signage, and visitors to the new RBC Royal Bank outlet in Clearview Market Square might assume they’ve entered a home electronics store.
RBCConceptBranch4MelissaArthurMarch5_20120305102703
Regional Vice President

Remove the signage, and visitors to the new RBC Royal Bank outlet in Clearview Market Square might assume they’ve entered a home electronics store.

A 72-inch monitor looks down on a soft seating area, interactive tablets are available for use and Wi-Fi can be accessed throughout. Traditional banking brochures are conspicuously absent, and staff — who don’t have assigned offices — spend their time on the floor interacting with customers.

Manager Stacey Green and RBC Royal Bank regional vice-president Ron Sauve even avoid the word “branch” when describing the 4,600-square-foor premises, opting for “store” instead.

“The experience is totally different in this store, compared to the traditional branches,” said Green.

Open since Monday morning, the full-service branch is RBC Royal Bank’s newest design. Only two others exist in Alberta — one in each of Calgary and Edmonton — and about a dozen nationally, said Sauve.

“As we build stores in the future, they’ll look just like this.”

Customers can meet with bank officials in an open sitting area, or in meeting rooms if private matters are being discussed.

Green said the branch is designed to promote “financial literacy.” Customers can access information on various banking topics at “advice kiosks,” or use an “advice table” to perform such calculations as how much they’d save by forgoing that daily $2 cup of coffee — both via touch-screen tablets.

“It’s for kids and adults alike,” said Green, demonstrating how electronic puzzles and games can be played on the advice table.

An “advice event area” will be used for presentations on a variety of subjects, like mortgages and small business products, said Green.

“We’re going to reach out to our community and ask for them to do things in the store as well,” she added, suggesting home renovations and gardening as two possible topics.

The other new branches in Calgary and Edmonton have been well-received by customers, said Sauve.

“This is a whole different kind of experience because of the technology.”

Green currently has eight staff at the branch, with this number expected to increase as business grows.

Hours of operation are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Wednesday; 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays; 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The RBC Royal Bank is the second business to open at Clearview Market Square, which is located south of 67th Street and west of 30th Avenue. TD Canada Trust opened a branch in the commercial centre in January, with CIBC and Servus Credit Union both building there as well.

Also currently slated for development in Clearview Market Square is a Loblaw Companies Ltd. grocery store called Your Independent Grocer, a pub under The Canadian Brewhouse banner, and a multi-tenant building.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com