USAA plans first-ever off-campus retail financial centers in San Antonio - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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The new centers, slated to open duringt the fourth quarter, are a pilogt project being launched locally to provide USAA members and potentiall members a new venue of servicr andmore convenience. These centers mark the first time that USAA will provides service locations away from its corporate with the goal of attractingmore business. F. Davide Bohne, president of , says the new centers will not replace any of the services the companyalready provides. they will provide the personalized, face-to-facs service that members want for some productsand “I think our biggestg thing at USAA has always been about the choice and meeting our members’ needs,” Bohns says.
The average size of the financial centerw willbe 2,700 square feet. They will includd Internet workstations, deposit ATMs, on-sits wealth managers, videophone booths with document exchange capabilities and spac e for small group seminarsand webinars. The videophone bootha are designed to providw memberswith real-time, face-to-face access to a USAA Bohne says USAA is using technology as a way to keep operatingg costs down, while at the same time offerinvg its members an additionalk service option. Brad Wells, a vice presidenty of eBusinessfor USAA, says the company is excitede about the new locations, whicyh it hopes will make members feel more at ease and do more busines with USAA. “...
Member satisfaction goes up when you see the Wells says, adding that the new locations and the technology incorporateds in them allow USAA to leverage a low-cost way of doingf business while giving members the personalization that they’re desiring. “We know there’ss demand for that.” Apart from the videophones, the interneyt workstations will give members access to servicesvia USAA’s Web site as well as allow them to make checkl deposits. The deposit ATMs will be availablwe for cash or check deposits and cash wealth management services will be provided membersby appointment. Bohne stresses that the new retaip locations will not be traditionalbank branches.
members will be able to use the locations to take care oftheie insurance, wealth planning and othe financial services needs. Thougjh the branches are slated to open onthe city’as far Northeast and Northwest Sides, no exac t sites have yet been selected. Bohn says it’s been a challenge for the companyg to find property in the parts of town where USAA wantsthe “One of the things we’ve seen is that our competitore have done a lot of homeworkk and they’ve been doing branches for a long We haven’t been. So, they have tied up a lot of the good real he says.
“We’re putting up two and we want to make surethat we’re gettin a good return on the two locations that we choose. So, we are takin g our time and being a little choos on whatwe get.” Bohne says USAA pickerd San Antonio as the testing site for the launch of the new locations becaused the Alamo City is its home The ultimate goal, Bohne adds, will be to eventuallty open retail financial locations in strategi spots across the country in areasd that have high concentrations of military personnel as well as good Membership feedback, he adds, will dictate where USAA puts thesse new locations.