Custom keypads and keyboards are becoming the norm in the banking industry. The role of the bank teller has diminished greatly. In its place is the ATM, affectionately referred to as the money machine. The latest trend to join it is at-home banking online. As a result, many customers never set foot in a bank or visit the drive-thru service window. When customers do come into the bank, they want everything to be easy. They don’t want to fill out long bank slips and wait in long lines. They want the same convenience inside the bank as they find outside the bank at the ATM and at home. Custom silicone keypads and keyboards for banking make deposits, withdrawals, transfers and other transactions easier for the customer and the bank teller.
Upgrades in Technology
Even with customers doing most of their banking directly with machines instead of people, someone still has to visually verify certain transactions. As a result, custom keypads for the banking industry go far beyond the traditional 10-key pad of yesteryear. Digital document scanners are built in to the same devices as calculators and verification software. New technology is constantly condensing the devices into more compact, more user-friendly upgrades.
Teller Tasks
Custom silicone keypads and keyboards now have task keys for typing in requests and information, rather than alpha-numeric single digit markings. These task keys eliminate typing out words and numbers that take extra time and allow for clerical errors, typos and other mistake. For example, a teller can now push a button to verify a person’s identity by asking for their thumbprint instead of typing in identifying information letter by letter. Another key on the same custom silicone rubber keypad might be strictly for accessing account data for individual customers. Document scanners input the numbers, rather than the teller typing them on the keyboard. Task keys can be designed specifically for each bank or financial institution and integrated into the keypad manufacture. This eliminates the need for multiple devices. Since keypad manufacture has become more sophisticated, more complex silicone rubber keypad designs can be used to make the bank teller’s job easier and the customer’s experience faster and more convenient. The custom silicone keypads interact more precisely with membrane circuitry, creating a fluid transaction.
Customer Identification
In many banks, the customer now slides their ATM, driver’s license or debit card across the custom keypad interface for identification. Rather than allowing non-member banking customers to use drive-thru facilities, financial institutions now require these people to come inside. This lowers the risk of identity fraud while reducing the amount of traffic in the drive-thru teller windows. Using magnetic swipe readers (MSR) and optical character readers (OCR) the teller is able to quickly identify the customer and pull up the correct bank account. Any transfers and payouts can be made quickly and easily. If the customer is in the bank, he doesn’t have to wait long, and paper slips and requests for information are kept to a minimum.
As innovative designs and concepts in the banking industry continue to be born, the tasks associated with silicone keypads and keypad manufacture will continue to grow as well. This will increase speed, convenience, security and customer satisfaction.
