How the End of the Safe Deposit Box Is a Signal for Banking’s Future
By Carla Trombly, SVP of Banking Transformation at DBSI
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Executive Summary
- Many banks, including majors like Chase, are rapidly phasing out safety deposit boxes as customer interest flags and the role of the branch evolves.
- But the need for security and continuity that safety boxes represent has not gone away. Its focus has just shifted to other platforms.
- Some innovative banks and credit unions are replacing physical boxes with digital storage that addresses the same need, while adopting to customers’ current preferences.
The quiet disappearance of the safe deposit box may seem like a small design choice. In reality, it’s a signal to the entire industry. Financial institutions are rethinking their role in helping customers safeguard what matters most, and how their services define customer relationships.
Chase, one of the largest banks in the United States, recently shared that it will begin phasing out all remaining safe deposit boxes nationwide. Other banks and credit unions are eliminating safe deposit boxes not out of neglect, but necessity. They’re rethinking every square foot, adopting smaller branch formats, and aligning with how customers actually live and store their most important items.
“The reality is that a vault is one of the least flexible investments a financial institution can make,” says Amanda Farmer, Director of Equipment at DBSI, a design-build firm based in Chandler, Arizona. “It takes up space, requires dual-control staffing, private viewing rooms, annual maintenance, and constant upkeep. When you add it all together, it’s a costly program that fewer and fewer customers actually use.”
A Shift in Consumer Behavior
Modern customer behavior has shifted. Many of the important items once stored in safe deposit boxes — such as wills, deeds, and insurance policies — are now scanned, uploaded, and saved to the cloud. At the same time, affordable home safes and advanced security systems give people the confidence to keep valuables at home.
“It’s really become a mindset shift,” Farmer explains. “Younger generations in particular don’t want paper copies. They want digital access, and they want it to be shareable. That changes the very purpose of what a safe deposit box was meant to provide.”
Arizona Financial Credit Union is seeing that shift in real time.
“Member preferences have evolved significantly. In 2020, the number of safe deposit boxes opened and closed each month was roughly equal. Today, we close nearly twice as many as we open,” says Jaclyn Stewart, VP of Branch Services at Arizona Financial Credit Union. “This reflects a growing reliance on digital storage solutions, which offer enhanced security, convenience, and accessibility. While some members still value physical storage, the overall trend shows that fewer people see safe deposit boxes as essential.”
The credit union continues to offer safe deposit boxes at select branches. “This ensures access for those who still prefer them — while keeping service and cost aligned for the broader membership,” Stewart explains. Arizona Financial’s upcoming flagship branch in Phoenix’s Biltmore neighborhood is being designed to be vault-free. Stewart says this creates opportunities to modernize service delivery for members: “We’re creating branch designs tailored to support the needs of the person in front of us — whether that’s a business who needs treasury management solutions, someone looking for lending expertise, or a family coming in for the signing of their teen’s first car. We want to meet them where they are for the moments that matter most.”
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The Real Gap: Guidance
Although the physical need for vaults has declined, the underlying needs they address — security, peace of mind, and planning — have not gone away. In fact, the stakes are higher than ever:
- 76% of Americans don’t have a will. (Caring.com)
- $49.5 billion in assets sits unclaimed in state treasuries. (SmartAsset)
- 80% of consumers say they expect help from their financial institution to improve their financial health, but only 14% believe their bank or credit union is delivering on that expectation. (Financial Health Network)
This gap represents a powerful opportunity for financial institutions to extend both their relevance and service.
EJ Kritz, Chief Experience Officer at DBSI, views this moment as an opportunity to reframe the branch around what customers need today. “When vaults are taken out of the design equation, institutions must rethink the entire branch experience. It’s about creating new ways to deliver value, relevance, and trust.”
When Physical Goes Digital
While financial institutions continue to reshape their physical environments to meet modern customer demands, new digital solutions are also emerging that may help fill the space left by safe deposit boxes. Banks are now piloting programs aimed at bringing that same sense of security and trust to their customers.
One institution putting this into practice is Claremont Savings Bank (CSB) in New Hampshire. The bank continues to serve customers who use safe deposit boxes at branch locations, but recognizes that younger generations and families with far-flung relatives are often seeking more seamless solutions.
By partnering with a digital legacy planning platform called Paige, CSB is providing customers with a modern alternative — secure digital storage for wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and even memories — delivered through an experience that reinforces the bank’s role as a guardian and guide through life’s transitions.
Paige provides what is essentially a “modern safe deposit box” for today’s households and is built specifically for financial institutions to add value for their customers. The platform enables members to create wills, securely store vital documents and passwords, and designate access to loved ones through step-by-step support, and a co-branded experience that ties directly back to the bank or credit union.
Paige’s approach helps institutions recreate the “stickiness” once associated with safe deposit boxes, reporting over 99% customer retention for the platform.
“Our vision has always been about giving people lasting peace of mind,” says Emily Cisek, Founder & CEO of Paige. “By helping customers plan, stay organized, and bring their closest connections into the process, we create a web of trust around financial institutions that strengthens loyalty, deepens relationships, and extends value across generations.”
What’s Next for Financial Institutions
Phasing out the safe deposit box reflects a larger shift in what people expect from financial institutions. It shows that customers may no longer look to the branch for physical storage, but they still expect guidance and pathways to securing assets that go beyond money.
“As a community bank, we’ve long offered safe deposit boxes as a way to give customers peace of mind. But we also see the challenges — keys get lost, family members may live far away, and access can be difficult at the moments people need it most,” says Tausha Shute, VP, Head of Retail at Claremont Savings Bank. “We were looking for a partner that would allow us to carry that same trust into the digital world. It’s about giving customers a secure, accessible place for their most important documents and memories, while still keeping the bank at the center of that relationship.”
For an industry built on trust, how financial institutions decide to bridge that gap may prove as consequential as any branch redesign.
