4 Reasons You Should Visit a Bank Café

This post is sponsored by Capital One.  All opinions are my own.

We all have a bank, right? You, me, even my Grandmother — we all have banks. It’s a necessity of 21st-century life.

I’m not bashing banks, I’m not… We all need them.

But they leave a bit to be desired.

Banks make me think of tellers, stuffy bankers behind desks and long lines.

With the advancement of ATMs and Mobile Deposit, a trip to the bank is not super high on my excitement list.

Until last weekend, that is.

That’s when I found out about the new Capital One Café opening in the Short Pump Town Center.  They might just be the best thing ever in banking, and here’s why.

These weirdly wonderful hybrid centers are like a bank, your favorite coffee and pastry shop, tech center, and co-op work space mashed together.

You can totally grab breakfast, commit to a better budget, and learn how to actually manage it, charge your cell phone and put your feet up and get some work done all in one trip.

(If they add a library, I may never leave).

4 Reasons Capital One Cafés are a Game-Changer

They combine technology and human connection.

According to an Accenture Survey, 60% of consumers use online banking at least weekly. And of those folks, 87% still crave a place to go with human interaction to compliment that online experience.

At a Capital One Café, you will be greeted by a Café Ambassador sporting apparel curated by former Project Runway contestant Shirin Askari. These Ambassadors can help you through tasks like setting up an account, paying your bills online, applying for a credit card and much more. The experience makes solving your financial problems and reaching your money goals much simpler.

Ambassadors are also there to help you make financial plans in less traditional ways by making use of different technologies on display at the Demo Bar, where new technology like Amazon Echo can be used to answer your Capital One questions while also helping you manage your account.

Also available to test out at the Demo Bar is a cool digital tool, called CreditWise, which lets you see not only your credit score, but also your entire credit profile and learn how to improve it.

If you’re not sure where to start with your financial plan, they also have interactive screens with a quiz you can take that will help you determine what your primary goal should be, how much you should be saving to reach that goal, and more!  If you’re new to financial planning, it’s a great tool!

They offer complimentary money coaching and workshops

Don’t get me started on how awesome this is. I’m a fan of anything that gets us talking about our budgets. The banking industry has been sorely in need of this.

At the Capital One Cafés, they offer a free three-session money coaching program that will help you connect your values to your money, get your money under control, plan a path for your future financial goals, and give you the confidence to make it happen.

Personalized coaching for anything usually costs a pretty penny – to have it offered for free is a heck of a perk.

In addition, they also offer free workshops on topics like “How to Talk Money With Your Honey”, “How to Make Your Golden Years Shine Bright”, “Wise Wedding Planning” and more, so if you’re not in need of super individualized financial counseling, you can attend them and get the information you need.

They take the stuffy feeling out of banking.

Because they’re so convenient, the Café makes financial issues far less overwhelming.  It’s nice to know that whether you want to figure out how to plan for a car, a vacation, a wedding, another child, a house, or retirement, trusted resources are available to help whenever you need them.  

The Cafés are designed to facilitate experiences centered on discovery, conversations, hospitality, education and community events, and the physical space reflects that. The Cafés have an open layout design and offer nooks and meeting rooms for customers, neighborhood and community members/partners to use should they need a work or meeting space.

It’s a great excuse to sit and enjoy coffee and pastries.

I’m just saying.  The Short Pump Café will serve Peet’s Coffee and baked goods from Zosaro’s Bakery, Cupertino’s Bagel, Pearl’s Cupcakes, and Country Style Donuts. The coffee and pastries help make your average trip to the bank something you can look forward to a little more – and maybe make you feel less guilty for enjoying the pastries 🙂

All in all, I’m beyond excited for these new Capital One Cafés and can’t wait to visit one. To celebrate the openings of Capital One Cafés all over the country, Capital One is hitting the road with its Capital One Banking Reimagined Tour, making stops across the United States to give people a taste of what will be offered in Capital One Cafés and to get us all thinking and talking about personal finance in a new way. I’m making a trip to Capital One’s Banking Reimagined tour this weekend in Richmond and will be sure to report back on the experience in a future post. If you’re interested, too, you should come by to check it out!

Short Pump Town Center

11800 W Broad St.

Richmond, VA 23233

March 18-19, 2017

10am – 6pm

For more information on the Tour and to see if it’s stopping in your city, check out the Banking Reimagined Tour.   Website: https://bankingreimagined.capitalone.com/