Banks are predicted to shift their customer service operations away from high street branches and towards call centres in the face of increased competition.
This is according to industry analyst Gartner, which said that, in three years' time, more than three-quarters of European banks will have closed ten per cent of their branches.
In what spells good news for the future of call centres, only top-value transactions will be the responsibility of branches, with an inbound call centre likely to be the first port of call for customer interactions.
Gartner principal research analyst Richard De Lotto said that, as the economy begins to move forward, banks need to plan for the "new world" emerging from the end of global recession.
"If they don’t, they will become uncompetitive and fall behind more-forward-thinking rivals," he explained, suggesting that the main threat stems from telecoms firms and high street retailers.
According to FinanceAsia.com report, this trend has already begun in China, with bank spending on technology expected to reach $11.3 billion (£7.1 billion) by 2011.
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