Coffee and cash

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Wednesday 29th August 2001

Want a latte with that account balance? ASB Bank has just opened a branch in Queenstown that features an in-branch café and an open fireplace.

The bank will also be open every day of the week, with some services available until 8pm at night.

The joint business venture of bank branch and cafe is with Auckland-based coffee roasters, Burton Hollis.

"Customers completing in-branch transactions are tempted with cafe food and coffee, and in the winter months, the huge fireplace will add heat to the ambience of the setting," the bank says.

MD, Ralph Norris, says it is the first bank branch in the South Island to open seven days a week, meeting the requirements of a town that works all week long.

"This branch opening is particularly significant as it means we now have one or more branches in every region of the country."

"With this new branch and cafe concept, we might again be turning another corner for the way banking is done in this country."

ASB Bank, which is owned by Australia's Commonwealth Bank, recently reported a 22% jump in after-tax profit for the year to June of $183 million.

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