And I thought ATMs were an expectation

So I went to the bank today and found that the ATMs had been upgraded - they now have check imaging capabilities. And while I’ve heard about the technology that allows checks to be deposited at an ATM without an envelope, I hadn’t yet used one until this afternoon. It’s a pretty slick process: tell the ATM that you want to make a deposit and insert the check directly into the machine. An image of the check appeared instantly on the screen; the computer displayed the deposit amount and asked me if it was correct – I was surprised that the computer read the hand-written amount on the check. After approval, you can select to have a receipt printed with or without the check image, or chose no receipt at all. All of this in a matter of a few quick prompts on the screen.

This was in sharp contrast to an experience we had last week with a community bank in a small town in North Carolina – where a teller told us that the bank was “old fashioned”. Old fashioned is an understatement. Here’s an institution with a large geographic footprint, promoting free checking at its branches, and it doesn’t offer an ATM or ATM card. And, after looking online after our visit, the bank doesn’t have a website either.

While I realize that today’s financial institutions don’t necessarily need to have the same products, services or delivery channels as their competitors, I had considered ATMs to be an expectation rather than an option – especially with institutions like mine upgrading machines that are already fully functional and feature more bells and whistles than most ATMs out there.

So, how long can an "old fashioned" bank continue to conduct business successfully (without ATMs, a website, or online banking) in an environment where consumer expectations are rapidly changing?