As you walk in, there are pictures of staff working that day with their names and areas of specialization.  You can ask to speak with specific people instead of having to queue up to conduct transations with the ‘next available teller’. On the left, there are ATMs with new technologies – one where you can drop in coins without pre-counting them, and it is automatically counted and deposited into your account; another with fingerprint recognition etc. On the right, there are a rotating set of high end merchants – on my trip, it was a travel related theme with Thomas Cook (the travel agency) who had enticing brochures on exotic locales and a representative on hand, along with a high end Italian designer company selling bags, briefcases and assorted travel goodies.

Just beyond this area, you have services (like loans, mortgages etc.) that are bundled into tangible products - something you can touch and feel, and have to buy for a modest price. (You get back more than what you pay for in savings inside the box.)

At the back of the branch is a stylish upmarket cafe, with big screen flat panel TVs and free internet connectivity (there is even a flat screen tv built into the bar surface complete with embedded keyboard). There is a free (staffed) daycare and customizable meeting rooms all with the latest technology. It is even pet friendly.

This ‘branch of the future’ caters well for both the self service crowd as well as the ‘high touch’ crowd, making it a far more personalized and pleasurable experience – indeed a destination if the number of people who walked in were any indication.

If you are in Berlin, you should go see it!