Some Banks have reopened their Lobbies with Social Distancing

Many banks in the Missoula area have reopened their lobbies to serve their customers, while still maintaining the social distancing required by the Missoula City County Health Department.

Scott Burke is President and CEO of Missoula’s First Security Bank locations, and said his lobbies reopened on Monday.

“We opened the lobbies yesterday, on Monday the 11^th, and what we’re trying to do is maintain the stay-at-home orders that are out there but also give our customers the opportunity to transact their business more personally,” said Burke. “We’ve opened most of our lobbies where we can comply with the Missoula County directives that they given us in terms of how many people and distancing and sorts.”

Burke said Missoula is still a small town as opposed to larger cities.

“We are still in rural America, and I know that banking is really different in the metropolitan areas,” he said. “We’re so used to being around each other and conducting business in front of each other. Even though we’re allowing entrance into the lobby to do business, it’s not like we’re welcoming everybody just to swarm in.”

Burke described the precautions in the bank lobbies to protect customers.

“We still have to operate in a manner I which we can keep our employees safe, and we’re keeping our customers safe, too,” he said. “They’re open, but there is social distancing, there are no restrooms available, the check writing stands have been covered over and the furniture has all been removed, so pretty much all of the touch points we really have to monitor, so even though it’s open and you can deal with people, there are still barriers in place.”

Many banks and credit unions have reopened their lobbies but some have not. Please call your financial institution to find out if their have opened their lobbies, or if only drive-through banking is still being allowed.