Branch traffic has not disappeared. It has simply changed.
In the United States, customers no longer visit branches primarily for routine transactions. According to the FDIC’s 2023 survey, mobile banking has become the primary method of account access for a majority of US households, while reliance on branch tellers has steadily declined over the past decade. Those have already moved to mobile and online channels. What remains are identity checks, exceptions, clarifications, and high-trust moments where digital self-service breaks down.
The result is a persistent operational problem:
branches and call centers continue to absorb load that digital journeys were meant to eliminate.
Reducing branch load today is not about closing locations or forcing customers online. It is about redesigning how trust, verification, and resolution happen across digital journeys so customers do not need to fall back to physical visits.
This is where secure video becomes an operating layer rather than just another channel.
Why branch load still exists in a digital-first banking environment
Most banks have already digitized the obvious parts of the journey:
applications, forms, uploads, dashboards, notifications.
Yet branch traffic remains high because of three structural issues:
1. Avoidable in-person visits
Customers are still asked to visit a branch for identity verification, document clarification, or final approvals, even when the interaction itself does not require physical presence.
2. Digital drop-offs that convert into branch visits
When a digital journey fails mid-way, customers do not abandon the bank. They abandon the channel. The branch becomes the recovery path.
3. Risk-driven escalations
Fraud signals, policy thresholds, and compliance rules trigger human involvement. Without a remote escalation mechanism, that involvement defaults to in-person servicing.
Reducing branch load means addressing all three, not just digitizing forms.
The branch-load equation banks actually need to solve
A useful way to think about branch dependency is this:
Branch Load = Avoidable Visits + Digital Drop-offs + Risk-Driven Escalations
Most digital transformation efforts focus only on avoidable visits.
They do not address what happens when customers get stuck or when risk increases.
This is why digital adoption rises, but branch and call center load does not fall proportionally.
Video is not a channel. It is the escalation layer.
Self-service works when everything goes right.
Real banking journeys include uncertainty, mistakes, edge cases, and risk.
A modern Video banking platform functions as a governed escalation layer that keeps customers within the digital journey when self-service alone is not enough.
Instead of sending customers to a branch, the journey escalates to a secure video interaction where identity, documents, and intent can be verified in real time.
This distinction matters because escalation, not initiation, is where most operational load is created.
V-CIP: reducing onboarding-driven branch visits
In the US, customer onboarding must satisfy Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements and risk-based identity controls. Non face-to-face onboarding is permitted, but only when supported by appropriate verification and monitoring mechanisms.
This is where V-CIP becomes operationally valuable.
Rather than forcing customers to complete onboarding entirely unsupervised or entirely in-branch, video allows banks to:
- verify identity with human oversight when risk requires it
- validate documents in real time instead of through repeated re-uploads
- resolve discrepancies without restarting the journey
- complete onboarding without scheduling a branch visit
The outcome is not just faster onboarding.
It is fewer incomplete applications turning into branch appointments.
Remote servicing matters more than onboarding
Onboarding gets most of the attention, but servicing creates more sustained branch load over time.
Common servicing scenarios that still drive in-person visits include:
- profile and address updates
- document re-submission
- transaction clarifications
- account restrictions and holds
- beneficiary and mandate changes
- fraud follow-ups
These are not complex because of the task itself. They are complex because they require proof, explanation, or confirmation.
This is where video-based servicing changes the equation.
Video PD: handling verification beyond onboarding
Many banks struggle not with the initial Customer Identification Process (CIP)
, but with verification events that occur later in the customer lifecycle.
Video PD enables structured, auditable verification for:
- document proofing
- profile validation
- exception handling
- post-onboarding due diligence
Instead of routing these cases to branches, banks can resolve them through supervised video workflows that preserve compliance while reducing physical dependency.
Designing journeys that actually reduce load
Technology alone does not reduce branch traffic. Journey design does.
Effective deployment depends on Customer journey and routing logic that answers four questions:
- When does a digital journey escalate to video?
- Which team handles that escalation?
- What evidence is captured and stored?
- What defines successful resolution?
Without explicit routing rules, video becomes another queue rather than a load-reduction mechanism.
The most effective banks design journeys where:
- self-service is the default
- video is the structured escalation
- branches are the last resort
Why co-browsing prevents unnecessary escalation
Many digital journeys fail not because of risk, but because of confusion.
Customers abandon flows due to:
- unclear instructions
- uncertainty about document uploads
- fear of making a mistake
- lack of visibility into next steps
A secure co-browsing on video call allows agents to guide customers through completion in real time, preventing drop-offs that would otherwise turn into branch visits.
This is one of the most underestimated levers for reducing operational load.
Measurement is non-negotiable
If leadership cannot see impact, branch dependence persists by default.
Effective implementations rely on dashboards and reporting that track:
- branch visits deflected by video flows
- digital journeys recovered through escalation
- resolution time by channel
- compliance and fraud outcomes
- customer satisfaction post-interaction
Branch load only reduces when outcomes are visible, defensible, and repeatable.
The economics, without oversimplification
Digital interactions are structurally cheaper than in-branch or call-center servicing. That is well understood.
What is less discussed is this:
Cost savings disappear when poor digital design increases fraud risk, rework, or unresolved cases.
The goal is not to replace branches with video. The goal is to reserve branches for moments that truly require physical presence.
A practical rollout approach
Banks that succeed typically follow this sequence:
- Identify high-volume journeys with frequent drop-offs
- Introduce video escalation for those journeys only
- Define routing, SLAs, and evidence capture clearly
- Train dedicated escalation teams
- Measure outcomes before expanding
This incremental approach delivers faster operational wins than large-scale channel launches.
Reducing branch load is a design problem, not a channel problem
Branches are not inefficient by default. They become inefficient when they are used as recovery mechanisms for broken digital journeys.
Secure video, when embedded correctly, prevents those recoveries from becoming physical.
For banks focused on improving efficiency without sacrificing trust or compliance, the question is no longer whether to use video. It is where and how video fits into the operating model.