The transition to digitalization in the banking sector continues to gain momentum, and one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, Bank of America, has announced the closure of several branches starting in January 2025.
Customer habits are also changing, and entities need to optimize their resources to face this transition.
That is why digital banking has transformed the way we all manage our money. Today, transactions that previously required a visit to the bank can be done from a mobile phone or a computer in less than two minutes. This change has caused many traditional branches to become less profitable, as has happened to Bank of America.
Bank closure boom
Every week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) shares the list of branches that will close in the coming months, because, if you don’t know yet, a branch cannot close overnight, but must notify the OCC at least 90 days in advance.
Why do banks close?
Usually, it’s because they become less profitable, i.e. the location of these branches no longer generates enough income to keep them open (this happens, above all, in places where in-person demand has decreased due to the use of APPs and ATMs).
The result of this was the pandemic that we experienced in 2020, which accelerated the use of digital services, and Bank of America, like other banks, has invested considerably in technological platforms and suffered from this as well.
So, once people get used to using online banking, there is no need to keep so many physical branches open.
Which regions will be affected by the Bank of America branch closures?
According to the OCC, the closures will affect several states. Here is the list:
- California
- 6351 East Spring Street, Long Beach
- 8760 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills
- 702 Mission Avenue, Oceanside
- Florida
- 8681 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers
- 902 South Atlantic Avenue, Ormond Beach
- 2700 West Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Boulevard, Tampa
- Other states
- 49 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL
- 133 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA
- 1501 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA
What happens now for customers?
Bank of America has proposed several options to guarantee its customers 100% service. Even if the branches are closed, the bank’s mobile applications and digital platform allow you to carry out any transaction at any time of day. In addition to this, they have personalized help (via chat or call) for those who have difficulties using the app.
On the other hand, the ATMs will continue to operate, so if you only go to the bank to withdraw money from your ATM, don’t worry because you can continue as if nothing happened.
Finally, Bank of America has committed to providing users with the nearest branches that remain open.
Digitalization and our elders
We, the young, are already well accustomed to going everywhere with our mobile phones, from paying bills to buying things without having to go anywhere physically. But what about our elders? The digital divide (inequality in accessing the use of technology, mostly between different age groups) is causing havoc among the older people in our cities, and for many of them, an action as simple as withdrawing money becomes a world with so many screens and so much information, which is leading them to become socially depressed groups (or socially excluded, as we would say). If we add to all these difficulties the number of hackers out there lurking to do harm, we once again place our elders in a vulnerable situation.
With the closure of Bank of America branches, many ladies and gentlemen in our country are seeing how something as basic as going to the bank is becoming an odyssey.
So, we will have to gradually adapt to this “migration” towards digital, but always taking into account the most vulnerable sectors of society.