The much-admired Umpqua Bank has created this fascinating video depicting one possible vision of the (very near?) future of financial services. Take a look:

What’s particularly interesting about the video is the absence of narration. It gives the viewer credit, and lets us fill in any missing pieces with our imagination. The video engages you by making you think, “What is she doing?”

Reality Check: The most brilliant innovations don’t require explanation.

Everything the video depicts doesn’t require some far-fetched technology that’s yet to be invented. Everything shown utilizes stuff that’s available today.

Very imaginative. Very cool. Very plausible. In fact (considering Umpqua’s history of innovation), it’s something we’ll likely see very soon.

Production Note: The video is a digital composite using footage shot in Umpqua’s flagship prototype in Portland’s Pearl District. If you think their “branch of the future” looks cool, that’s because their starting point — the real branch that they’ve already developed — is already cool. They don’t have a long way to go to realize their vision.

Tip of the Hat: To Ray Davis, CEO of Umpqua Bank, for having the unique combination of courage, commitment and capital to pull off some of the most exciting things happening in the financial industry.

Source: Banktastic.com

“The challenge is that most banks have a long legacy of product-centric, ‘everything for everybody’ ways of thinking. This leads to decision-making and resource commitments that reinforce ‘better sameness’ rather than true differentiation.”

– Frank Capek