With the growth of online and mobile platforms for financial transactions, what does the future look like for your friendly neighborhood bank?

Locally owned banks are keeping up with the times, offering modern services while maintaining the personal level of customer care that set them apart from national branches in the past.

Patrick Reilly, president and CEO of Mauch Chunk Trust, said that online and mobile banking are prevalent service options for their customers, and he expects that usage of these services will only grow.

“We’ve had a pretty good reception to these things. At least 70 percent of our customers use online banking, and about 20 percent use mobile banking right now, but that number has been growing quickly,” Reilly said.

East Stroudsburg Savings Association reported that between 40 and 50 percent of their customers use online banking, but they also expect a transition based on current trends.

Online options

“The majority of our customers continue to utilize our branch network to service their banking needs, although year after year branch transactions continue to decline while online and mobile transactions continue to increase,” said Chuck Hangen, ESSA Bank executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Krystle Erdie, electronic banking supervisor at The Neffs National Bank said that customers tend to use both online and in-person banking, though some rely more heavily on the electronic options.

“We feel our customers utilize both online/mobile banking and in-person just as much as the other. Many customers are primarily electronic, but that includes (point of service) and (automated clearing house) transactions, too,” Erdie said.

ACH credit transfers include direct deposit, payroll and vendor payments.

Primarily, mobile app customers use the feature to check an account balance or recent transaction. Other common uses include bill payments, account transfers and check deposits.

“I love the convenience of having my banking with me everywhere on my phone. I love the fact that you can easily customize your alerts so you know if there is any unauthorized activity on the account,” said online banking customer Jason Baker, who lives in Lehighton.

Most local banks offer similar services through electronic banking options, including the ability to check account balances, pay bills, transfer funds between accounts, transfer funds to other people through Popmoney (a person-to-person transfer service) and other everyday transactions.

Going digital

ESSA was one of the first local banks to break into online banking in the early 2000s, with Neffs coming into the market around 2005, and Mauch Chunk just a few years later.

Reilly said Mauch Chunk’s mobile platform took off shortly after its online services, while Neffs initially offered mobile access in 2011, with ESSA introducing mobile service just a year later.

To at least some degree, banking options like these have revolutionized how local customers do their business.

A lot of routine banking activity has shifted to debit card transactions or online banking, Reilly said. “Whereas 30 years ago, it used to be in-person and phone transactions,” Reilly said.

He cited another advantage for banks. “We’re seeing a lot fewer routine transactions in-person, but our customer base has continued to grow.”

Looking ahead

The transition to digital banking has pushed the local institutions to change how their physical branches operate.

“Brick-and-mortar branches will become less of a transactional facility, and more of a financial services advisory center for our customers now and in the future,” Hangen said.

Reilly concurred with Hangen’s outlook, noting changes in Mauch Chunk staffing, with personal bankers becoming more prevalent than regular customer service associates or tellers.

Personal bankers are more adept at directly addressing more complex account issues and wealth management, saving the customer the trouble of waiting on a meeting with a specialist.

“In the future, more complex transactions may become routine and available online, such as investment banking and wealth management are now. Going forward, you can expect more of that,” Reilly said.

Banking transactions like finalizing loan applications and mortgages are still generally relegated to in-person meetings to sign off on documents, though an online option could present itself in the near future. Companies such as Guaranteed Rate and Quicken Loans already offer online mortgages and loans, so it may only be a matter of time before local banks follow suit by making these options part of their online services.

Nonetheless, the old brick-and-mortar local bank will almost certainly stay where it is, as a friendly face is always welcome in the world of finance.

“Online and mobile banking keeps you connected to your accounts at anytime from anywhere, and they are very convenient,” Erdie said. “However, many of our customers still love the hometown feeling of seeing familiar and smiling faces when they come in to the bank.”