Once a key cog operating at the bank’s front office, a teller was not only the face of the institution but, the embodiment of human touch and quality service.
Fast forward to the evolution of technology in the 21st Century and the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the world to go digital, the lustre of the profession has dimmed in both vigour and numbers.
A spot-check at some of the banks in the Nairobi central business district (CBD) by the Business Daily shows there were less than 20 customers served at most four tellers.
“There’s generally been a decline in the number of tellers because mostly banks are moving towards digitisation of processes and there’s been a lot of focus on alternative channels like ATMs, mobile banking, agents, online banking,” said Kevin,* staff at one of the tier banks who sought anonymity.
“The market dynamics are also changing like a customer who wants to carry out a transaction would rather use their phone than visit a bank. I think the banks are reacting to this reality and are inclined to those transacting outside the physical location.”
A World Economic Forum 2023 report dubbed The Future of Jobs shows that many clerical or secretarial roles are seen as likely to decline because of artificial intelligence, and the death of bank tellers is nigh.
The report listed some of the professions likely to decline in five years including bank tellers and related clerks, postal services clerks, cashiers and ticket clerks, data entry, and administrative and executive secretaries, among others.
The global bank kiosk market is projected to reach a size of $46.36 billion by 2030, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.7 percent from 2023 to 2030, according to research and markets.
Bank kiosks are self-service devices that offer consumers various financial services without human interaction. Some Kenyan banks have started adopting self-services and centres such as NCBA and Standard Chartered.
In an earlier interview, NCBA boss John Gachora told the Business Daily that the quickest way to reach new regions in the country will still be through physical branches, even though the size and capabilities will be different.
NCBA is among lenders that have been introducing technologies such as open banking, cash deposit machines and online cheque deposit machines to encourage do-it-yourself services at the branches to resonate with increasingly tech-savvy customers.
Standard Chartered (StanChart) Bank of Kenya has also been rolling out sales and service centres and co-shared spaces as part of transforming the traditional branches into advisory centres.
Cooperative Bank, which in 2015 became the first lender to station mobile agents inside branches says full self-service outlets cannot be ruled out going forward.
The bank kiosk industry has seen rapid growth in recent years and is expected to continue due to factors such as convenience, accessibility, and cost-efficiency.
Bank kiosks address the need for quick and easy financial services, financial inclusion, technological advancements, and customer demand for self-service banking.
Although the death of the teller has been predicted, an analysis conducted by the Business Daily shows that the number of these professionals classified as clerical workers has been fluctuating over the years.
Official data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows clerical workers rose from 14,341 in 2010 to a high of 18,539 in 2014 but started falling to 16,503 in 2016, 14,515 in 2016 to a low of 11,138 in 2020 when banks cut staff owing to the pandemic’s effect.
The number has risen to 16,894 last year from 14,294 in the year before.
“The banking sector employment has seen a 20.1 percent growth over a decade with a 47.4 percent rise in managerial and supervisory staff noted and a subsequent 0.7 percent decline in clerical and support staff within the same 10-year period,” read a report on the Kenya Executive Pay report from the Standard Investment Bank.
Analysts explain the rise last year as a factor of both market dynamics and bank expansion to other towns and countries.
This year, NCBA plans to add 10 new branches, Diamond Trust Bank opened 17 new branches in 2022- six in Kenya and plans another 24 others in 2023 and acquisitions which require new staff.
KCB Group, the largest bank by assets added 2,560 employees to its payroll last year following the acquisition of a controlling 85 percent stake in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Trust Merchant Bank (TMB).
DRC’s entry will see KCB go head-to-head with Equity, which entered the vast market in 2015 through a buyout of ProCredit Bank and increased market share in 2020 after acquiring another lender — Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC).
Michael Odundo a research analyst at SIB echoed Kevin’s words saying advanced technology has moved more customers' transactions online.
Banks have also cut down on the square footage of some of the premises, They have smaller outlets for the few customers that need assistance.
