Bank branches are <i>so</i> last century

While getting ready for the closing day of our new house, I've been dealing with bankers and a lawyer. Mixed reviews for both.

This rant is directed at scotiabank. Don't get me wrong, the staff that I have dealt with have always been nice and helpful within the rules of the bank. The rules / policies are what I have a problem with. And this may be a issue with all of the major banks, I don't know.

The issue: if I open a savings plan at one branch, I should be able to handle any services with that account at any other branch. I shouldn't have to drive 45 minutes each way because I had set up the account at a convenient place for where I lived 5 years ago. I want to be able to go to a place that convenient for me now.

It's not like it's a paper record or anything. If you can see it on the computer screen in front of you, and I can do other services at that bank, I should be able to do all my services transparently.

So, for something that took me about 5 minutes to do at PC financial, it took me about 3 hours to do at scotia. And only because I was being a PITA customer saying things like "I'm sorry, that's not possible", "That doesn't make sense", "Why do I have to come back? Can't we do this now. It's just one form!" (it wasn't for scotia)... you get the idea.

Scotia: please modernize your processes and policies, not just your tools.