Did you know that your financial institution can be designed and built to do more than just banking? Banks and credit unions are now implementing secondary services within their branches that benefit the community.
Having these extra amenities in your financial institution will not only benefit your consumers, but it can expose your brand and the ability to interact with potential new members when you open them to the entire community.
A great example of a financial institution moving beyond the branch is Alden State Bank, who partnered with La Macchia Group to transform their newest branch in East Amherst, New York. There was extra space at the location, and they concluded that it would be best to use it for something the entire community could benefit from. The Bank decided to team up with a local non-profit, F BITES (Food Based Interventions with Technology Energy and Science). Steve Woodard, President & CEO of Alden State Bank, had heard of F BITES’ goals to make a difference in the employment rates, opportunities, and the poverty of the chronically unemployed and underprivileged youth. Woodard reached out to Bobby Anderson, F BITES Founder, to see if he was interested in having a café located in the Alden State Bank branch. He was, and so Alden State Bank carefully chose and engaged La Macchia Group to build a F BITES coffee shop within their branch and the Bank even funded the initial startup costs.