OMAHA, Neb. — Banks are starting to reopen their lobbies after months of drive-thru only services. Access Bank, based out of Omaha, closed their lobbies in March, only reopening them last month.
"We've implemented a lot of new safety protocols so we could open our locations back up," Access Bank president Samantha Mosser said.
Mosser says the doors may be open to their six locations, but things won't be exactly as people last saw them. The bank lobby setup may look similar, but there are things happening behind the scenes to protect customers and staff. Plexiglass separates employees and customers and the lobbies get cleaned every two hours.
The staff gets two temperature checks a day as well. They haven't stopped working since the outbreak began. Banks played a major part in helping struggling businesses with loans.
"We did over 570 PPP Loans, around $79 million. That was all to help small businesses stay and keep their people employed," Mosser said.
The current recession is different from the 2008 recession and has been hurting mostly those in the hospitality industry.
"This isn't an overbuild of the housing market, this is due to a pandemic. So the different industries that are hurt in this downturn seem to be more like the hotels and restaurants and the services," Mosser said.
For now, Access Bank lobbies are going to stay open to the public, unless there is a second bump in cases. But the services will continue in one way or another as the recession continues.
Check with your local bank if their lobbies have reopened or if they are appointment-only to save yourself a trip.