More and more companies are choosing to offer digital services and to close their physical stores, offices, or branches. This is what is also happening in the financial sector, and Bank of America is one of the companies that is going to adopt this business model after informing and confirming that it has closed five new branches during the first week of March.
And the worst part is that, according to The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, this trend is far from decreasing because they have many more closures planned for the coming weeks.
This decision seems to respond to a search for online expansion, an option that is used more and more around the world (and in all sectors) after the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and although digital operations are very convenient and have often made life easier, they are also leaving behind branches where in-person service used to take place.
Why are branches closing?
Mainly because today’s customers have also changed, many people who do banking prefer to do it from their phone or computer without needing to step into an office. Now, with our bank apps we can do anything: transfers, payments, investments, and even balance checks, and they are resolved in a second, you don’t have to spend hours and hours in line at the office.
A 2024 study conducted by Self Financial reveals that, since 2018, around 1,650 bank branches are closing per year in the U.S., a trend that, if it continues, could lead to physical banking disappearing completely by 2041. And it’s because, as we said, now it’s much more convenient to do any transaction without leaving home.
Which branches closed this month?
According to the weekly bulletin published by the OCC, between March 2 and 8, 2025, branches were closed in four different states:
- California: 702 Mission Ave., Oceanside
- Florida: 8181 West Broward Boulevard, Plantation and 16686 SW 88th Street, Miami
- Oregon: 14400 SW Allen Boulevard, Beaverton
- Tennessee: 3741 Winchester Road, Memphis
The branch closure process began in 2022 and around 200 bank offices have already been closed since then.
What do these closures imply?
Well, as offices disappear, we have to adapt to digital channels. For those of us who are younger, clearly this doesn’t represent any problem, but for those adults or elderly people who have a lot more difficulty with technology, this can turn into a technological barrier that is quite big and that may cause many of them to feel excluded from society.
The same happens for people who don’t have access to reliable internet or who don’t even have a laptop or latest-generation phone to do these transactions.
Also, on many occasions, like opening bank accounts or making large transfers, it’s still much more comfortable to go to an office than to do it with a computer.
And the workers?
That is another point to discuss, because the closure of branches doesn’t only affect customers and their routine, but there will be hundreds of workers who will lose their local jobs and it will end up impacting the economic cycle of the cities.
The end of bank branches?
For now, no, but the process seems unstoppable. For now, the trend is toward smaller branches and maybe fewer of them in very specific areas, focused on advice and other types of problems instead of the big offices we’ve always known.
At the same time, they are betting on 100% digital banks, which offer all their products without needing a physical network. Bank of America, for example, has invested in technology and digital security so that its users can operate from anywhere in the world.
The financial system, like the world, is heading and moving toward total digitalization. While traditional banking reduces its physical presence, the future seems to be tied to our screens. Our banks are changing forever, and it seems to be an unstoppable change.
