News and Views
Future of Retail Banking: Urban, Modular & Digital design
Modular Banking: Co-Working Branches & Kiosks in Europe
Across Europe, financial service environments are undergoing a major shift, with industry procurement briefs reflecting a growing demand for adaptable, space-efficient, and digitally integrated formats. As traditional branch networks shrink and digital banking rises, financial retailers are seeking to extend market penetration through urban micro-branches, airport kiosks, and pop-up banking experiences. These compact, high-impact formats aim to maintain physical presence, build trust, and offer personalised services while addressing cost efficiency and customer convenience.
Based on competitive benchmarking and recent procurement trends, several key design attributes are shaping the next generation of financial retail environments:
1. Flexible and Scalable Micro-Formats
Urban micro-branches—typically under 100 sqm—are now a strategic tool for targeting high-footfall, high-density locations. These formats require modular furniture systems, integrated technology, and collapsible consultation areas that can be scaled or repositioned as needed. Financial institutions such as Santander and UniCredit are investing in portable or easily replicated formats that reduce build time and cost without compromising brand presence. Campbell Rigg has responded to these needs by designing modular, pre-fabricated branch concepts that support fast roll-outs across multiple urban touchpoints.
2. Airport and Transit-Based Kiosks
As air travel resumes post-pandemic, airport kiosks are re-emerging as key customer engagement points, especially for services such as foreign exchange, insurance, and premium banking support. These designs demand maximum visibility, speed of service, and biometric security integration. At Campbell Rigg, our kiosk designs blend bold visual branding, compact service zones, and dynamic digital interfaces that support real-time personalisation and quick transactions in high-pressure environments.
3. Pop-Up and Event-Driven Financial Services
Temporary financial retail spaces are becoming more common for new product launches, community outreach, and financial literacy campaigns. Competitive leaders like ING and Revolut are experimenting with branded pop-ups in retail malls and cultural events, using immersive technology to educate and onboard customers. Campbell Rigg delivers turnkey pop-up environments—from brand messaging and signage to tech integration and spatial layout—that can be deployed quickly and dismantled with minimal impact.
4. Digital Integration and Self-Service
Compact formats increasingly rely on digital-first infrastructure, including touchscreen kiosks, mobile integration, video conferencing booths, and smart queuing systems. This technology not only enables 24/7 self-service but reduces staffing needs while maintaining brand engagement. At Campbell Rigg, we create intuitive UX flows across physical and digital environments, ensuring the customer journey is seamless from smartphone to micro-branch.
5. Privacy and Personalisation in Compact Spaces
Though small in size, modern financial spaces must still provide zones for private consultations. Through smart partitioning, acoustic treatments, and sliding modules, Campbell Rigg creates spaces that feel open yet secure. Personalisation elements such as interactive welcome zones and curated brand storytelling allow even the smallest spaces to feel premium.
6. Branded Consistency Across All Formats
A critical challenge is ensuring brand identity remains consistent across varying sizes and formats. Campbell Rigg’s approach ensures design cohesion from flagship branches to portable kiosks, using colour palettes, digital content, and service touchpoints to reinforce trust and professionalism.
With decades of experience in designing for international banks—including HSBC, BNP Paribas, ING, and Sberbank—Campbell Rigg provides end-to-end services, from brand strategy and spatial concept development to fixture design and rollout consultancy. Our expertise helps financial retailers unlock new markets through design that is agile, impactful, and deeply connected to evolving customer expectations.
Here’s a list of banks currently leading the field in urban micro-branches, airport kiosks, and pop-up banking concepts across Europe and globally, based on innovation, implementation, and alignment with evolving consumer behaviours:
ING (Netherlands)
Innovation: Known for compact, digital-first micro-branches in urban locations. Highlights: Offers self-service kiosks, remote advisory pods, and mobile onboarding. Has experimented with branded pop-up financial literacy spaces and tech showcases in malls and public venues.
Santander (Spain)
Innovation: Actively rolling out flexible micro-branches across European cities. Highlights: “Work Café” hybrid format combines banking, co-working, and café spaces. Micro-branches focus on advisory over transactions, with limited staff and heavy digital integration.
Santander’s work cafes are a prime example of these hybrid workspaces. Santander’s Work Café concept originated in Chile and has since spread to other countries in the Americas and Europe with numerous locations spread around the UK.
Though at first glance our Work Cafés may look like simple coffee houses, they are much more — they are collaborative spaces open to everyone. These innovative branches are part of our transformation to engage with people and businesses in a different way. We have left behind the traditional banking model to pave the way for an innovative experience as a digital bank with branches. As Santander's Executive Chair Ana Botín believes, the aim of the Work Café is for customers to "want", rather than "have", to go to a branch.
These innovative spaces, which on top of providing you with a new way to engage with your local branch and the financial solutions you need, enable you to work using free WiFi in a co-working environment and get access to events to help you grow personally and professionally.
BBVA (Spain)
Innovation: Embraces pop-up banking and modular urban formats. Highlights: Integrates mobile units for financial education and customer acquisition. Digital kiosks and consultation spaces designed for compact footprints.
Revolut (UK / EU)
Innovation: Pushing the boundary of digital banking with experimental pop-up installations. Highlights: Pop-up spaces used for product launches and onboarding campaigns. Often located in high-traffic transit zones and retail venues.
CaixaBank (Spain)
Innovation: One of the early adopters of portable banking formats and ATM-enabled kiosks. Highlights: Offers compact branches and standalone digital booths in urban neighbourhoods. Also uses mobile pop-up branches for rural areas.
Raiffeisen Bank (Austria & CEE)
Innovation: Actively developing compact branches with region-specific localisation. Highlights: Micro-branches in smaller towns and transport hubs feature digital-first services and temporary consultation booths.
BNP Paribas (France)
Innovation: Leveraging pop-up and airport presence to extend service reach. Highlights: Pop-up activations during events and digital kiosks at airports support international clients and brand visibility.
HSBC (UK / Global)
Innovation: Airport-based service lounges and micro-branches in urban business districts. Highlights: Focuses on private banking and international clients with high-end design, multilingual service, and digital concierge systems.
Sberbank (Russia / Eastern Europe)
Innovation: Highly modular and tech-driven micro-branches with integrated biometrics. Highlights: Uses compact branches with AI-enabled service points, mobile banking trucks, and pop-up booths at festivals and campuses.
Lloyds Banking Group (UK)
Innovation: Rolling out “micro-hubs” in city centres and remote UK areas. Highlights: Compact formats offering core services with advanced ATM technology and video advisory.
These banks are redefining what it means to "go to the bank"—shifting away from static, traditional branches to mobile, adaptive, and hyper-convenient formats that meet customers where they are, both physically and digitally.
