A fourth location, in the Albertson's on South 14th Street, is possible, but the deal is not firm, yet. Stephenson said consumers are looking to do as much as they can in one spot. Everybody doesn't have to come downtown to do their banking, but everybody does have to go to the store to do their shopping. The bank was looking for a couple of more locations, and the in-store branch was an economical way to meet that need and customer needs, he said. Stephenson estimated the cost of constructing and opening a branch in a grocery store is about 20 percent of what it would be to build and open a free-standing location.
Grocery stores help banks by providing high customer traffic.
A bank helps a store by bringing in some additional customers. He termed the project a success already. Hopefully we will pick up some new customers, but the extra convenience we are giving our present customers has made this successful. The in-store branch should not be looked at as a profit center. The branch offers full banking services, except for safe deposit boxes.