Promoting online banking with an Internet kiosk.

• Author: Michelsen, Michael W., Jr.
• Position: Marketing News - First State Bank

Steve Kohut, marketing manager of First State Bank in St. Clair Shores, Mich., has discovered an effective way to introduce customers to the benefits of Internet banking.

Recently the bank purchased 10 Internet kiosks, one for the lobby of each of the institution's nine branches plus the operations center. The total cost was less than $60,000. Customers use the kiosks to view a demonstration as to how Internet banking works. Once the customers know how to operate the program, they can use the kiosks to perform all of the same online banking functions that they could do from their home computers: apply for an account, transfer funds, pay bills and so forth. (The kiosks, unlike an ATM, will not dispense cash.)

Banks using Internet kiosks say that the cost of acquiring a new customer is only $369--far less than the average bank acquisition cost of $3,500, as reported by ABA.

"Kiosks are really becoming a very common sight on our American business landscape today," Kohut says. "For that reason, it's easy for someone's eyes to glaze over when you mention them, but we've found that kiosks are an easy, timesaving way to educate our customers." Also, kiosks have few technical limitations, he adds. The graphics capabilities are vast

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