Banking had become an increasingly virtual task even before Covid-19 brought in-person transactions to a halt.
Mobile deposits, cash apps and online mortgage services turned us into our own bank tellers and loan officers, and the bank branch landscape reflected this shift. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the number of commercial bank locations in the United States steadily declined from about 8,000 in 2000 to 4,518 in December 2019. By March 2023, that number had dropped…