Chase rolls out new express banking kiosks at Medical Center location

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Before Texas adopted interstate banking, there were homegrown banks in large cities and small towns. Those have largely vanished.

A few decades ago, ATMs arrived, and they quickly spread to every gas station and grocery store.

Now, what's called the new present and future of banking is being installed right here in Houston.

Chase bank has just opened a new location in the Texas Medical Center that has no traditional teller station; instead it features what's called an express banking kiosk, or EBK. Imagine a super-sized iPad that can dispense cash plus some other functions without the assistance of a teller.

Chase first introduced EBKs in California in 2012. A handful of the them have been at a Chase location in the Woodlands and a few other select locations, but tellers were visible at all of them.

At its Medical Center location, located at Fannin and South Braeswood, a trio of the devices are installed rather than a teller line. The EBKs dispense cash in denominations as small as a one dollar bill. The withdrawal limit is $2000. A permanent debit card can also be issued on site.

The EBKs are designed to save customers time. There is no waiting in a teller line, although tellers are available if needed for customer assistance. The kiosks were added as an increasing number of customers are opting for mobile and ATM banking rather than visiting banks during regular business hours.

In its last financial report, Chase announced nationwide 2,000 teller positioned would be eliminated as employees leave or retire. Chase has nearly 5,600 locations across the country.

More kiosks are on their way to other branch banks across the Houston area.