Before location and branch design decisions are made take a step back and look at where you want to be in five or 10 years. Because the decisions you’re making now have a massive effect on what your credit union is able to do in the future.

A thorough and collaborative approach ensures the new Vancity Chinatown Community branch would serve the neighbourhood’s diverse and robust community now and in the years to come. As prime consultant, our RATIO team was responsible for the planning and design of this tenant improvement project.  The interior design embraces natural light and circular shapes acknowledged in both Indigenous cultures and Feng Shui principals.

It wasn’t organizational challenges that drove Aldergrove Credit Union  (ACU) to embark on a new branch design; it was opportunity.  As a new branch in a new building in a new community, an opportunity arose for RATIO to integrate corporate goals into the branch design.

RATIO principal, Chris Pollard was interviewed for Enterprise Magazine, published by the Canadian Credit Union Association for his thoughts on future-proofing credit union branch design. Credit Unions are adapting their branches to address usage shifts as a result of technology; now and for the future. Chris shares thoughts on scalability, member insights and community profiling.

Recently released,  a global branch design report features 25 case studies from around the world including RATIO’s work for Island Savings. Published by a banking intelligence provider, Lafferty Group, the report is titled Digital Branch Design: Presence, Openness and Intimacy. Read on for a look at the published case study and more about the report.

Vancity’s new Maillardville branch reflects this credit union’s commitment to community and sustainability. As a LEED v4 registered Commercial Interior project, the space meets design criteria from healthy building materials to advanced energy metering and water conservation. Learn more about how RATIO and Vancity worked to create a unique, customer-friendly community credit union branch.

Today, October 19 is International Credit Union day. This is a shout out to the credit unions in our communities for their ongoing service pledge to their members and communities. The RATIO team has been privileged to work with credit unions for over 50 years.

Whether you call it ‘ future-proofing,’ ‘The Bionic Bank’ or ‘The Bank of Now’, they all refer to the strategic redefinition of the physical branch.  It means ensuring they meet needs of changing populations, providing centres of advice for life’s milestone moments.  People want face to face service for high-value transactions like small business loans, mortgages and life insurance.

The ‘Branch of the Future’ is member-focused and can adapt to changing demographics and expectations. Overcoming the disruption in the retail financial services sector requires insight and innovative thinking. Credit Unions have much to consider as they plan for the future. The so-called Branch of the Future is not a singular response, but an integrated solution that is customer centric and community relevant for each credit union brand. We offer some thoughts on how to plan for the Branch of the Future.

For us, the Branch of the Future is more than just a change in decor. It is our understanding of the business, how to serve customers better, how to integrate technology in-branch in a customer-friendly way, and how to create high-value transactions that allows us to create a path to the Branch of the Future.