The Evolving Role of Bank Branches in a Digital-First World
As banking becomes increasingly digital and customers prefer self-service channels, financial institutions are redefining the purpose of their physical branches. Despite declining foot traffic, major banks like Chase, copyright, and copyright continue to invest in branch expansion—recognizing branches as key hubs for customer engagement and local economic growth.
However, as branch operations evolve, so do fraud risks. More than half of all fraud still happens during over-the-counter (OTC) transactions such as cash withdrawals, transfers, and check deposits. This has pushed financial institutions to enhance in-branch automated fraud prevention.
Automation: A Strong Defense Against OTC Fraud
Modern fraud detection powered by machine learning analyzes transactions in real time and flags suspicious activities, easing the burden on tellers. Automated systems monitor OTC transactions for signs of money laundering, unusual cash behavior, or potential fraud and can instantly alert staff or freeze transactions.
By eliminating the need for tellers to interpret complex risk scores, automation helps banks reduce losses, protect customer accounts, and streamline workflows. In some cases, alerts can even be routed to back-office fraud analysts for deeper review.
OTC Fraud Continues to Rise
Check fraud remains a major threat—even as check usage declines. Fraud types range from counterfeits to alterations and forgeries, contributing to an estimated $24 billion in losses in 2024. Checks, often used for high-value payments, are easy targets and difficult to monitor, especially when fraudsters run multiple small transactions.
Transaction fraud is also expanding, affecting deposits, remote deposit capture (RDC), ATM duplicates, and activity on new or dormant accounts.