SUNRISE BANKS
“ I GUARANTEE , AS SOON AS PEOPLE START TO UNDERSTAND OUR MISSION , THEY WILL PICK US EVERY TIME OVER ONE OF THE BIG BANKS ”
TYLER SEYDEL CHIEF FINTECH OFFICER , SUNRISE BANKS
consumers to participate in financial services – and they won ' t need to visit a bricksand-mortar branch to do so . After all , even in modern society , nearly 6m American households are reported to be unbanked .
But contact-free banking doesn ' t work for all consumer groups , and the challenge for social banks like Sunrise will continue to be retaining a physical presence for customers that need it . That might include elderly customers or those without home broadband , which still number more than 20m – or 8 % of the US population – to this day . Keeping a branch open in a time of mass closures is not always financially viable , so alternative branch models – such as hubs or shared spaces – could signal the new era of in-person banking .
“ We are looking at a branch of the future and exploring those options right now . We can ' t give too much detail because we ' re still in the exploratory phase ,” Seydel teases . “ But we ' re absolutely looking at what our lines of engagement look like for the future .” He mentions that this concept might include community spaces to draw in more people , or broader use of virtual tellers . Maybe you take the example set by embedded finance and situate mini-branches in establishments that customers still frequent regularly – like coffee shops or gyms .
The shared space model , which is being piloted in a number of regions already , raises the prospect that Sunrise Banks and all it stands for might one day be seen right next to some of the largest margindriven lenders and big banks . So would Tyler Seydel be comfortable about the bank featuring side-by-side with one of the big boys ?
“ I would love if we had a shared banking space ,” he effuses . “ I would love it if people had the opportunity to understand the mission component of what we do , because getting that message out there can be tough . If anything , it would be a unique market study just to see how much our brand resonates . I guarantee , as soon as people start to understand our mission , they will pick us every time over one of the big banks .” www . sunrisebanks . com 17