Shanghai's robot bank: world's first human-free branch

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Xiao Long, or Little Dragon, at the China Construction Bank on Jiujiang Road, Shanghai

Xiao Long, the latest employee at the Jiujiang Road branch of the China Construction Bank is never late for work. “Welcome to China Construction Bank,” she chirps to customers arriving at the Shanghai branch, flashing her white teeth. “What can I help you with today?”

Xiao Long, or “Little Dragon”, is not your typical employee – she’s a robot at China’s first fully automated, human-free bank branch.

As guardian of the bank, she talks to customers, takes bank cards and checks accounts (she comes complete with a PIN pad) and can answer basic questions. After a quick initial chat with Xiao Long, customers pass through electronic gates where their faces and ID cards are scanned. On future visits, facial recognition alone is enough to open the gates and call up customer information.

Inside, automated teller machines help with services such as account opening, money transfer and foreign exchange. A second robot waits inside the barriers, and there is a VR room and video-link should customers want to talk to a mortal.

There is also a staggering number of security cameras. Loitering for too long or pulling out a camera quickly produces a human security guard who has been hiding out of sight.

The bank is rather low on customers, who in the main appear rather ambivalent. One man in his 30s shrugs that he does most of his banking online anyway, and avoids coming into branches – though at least he didn’t have to queue.

A police patrol robot at Zhengzhou East railway station

Robots are handling more and more aspects of everyday life in Chinese cities. They have been deployed in train stations for security purposes; robot security guards at Zhengzhou East railway station are programmed to scan travellers’ faces and respond to common questions.

The chief executive of JD.com recently predicted that robots will eventually replace human workers in the retail industry, with China’s unmanned retail sector expected to triple in size to 65bn yuan by 2020.

A robot waiter in Sanmenxia, Henan province

Robots are being used to cook – both in restaurants and industrial kitchens – and an entirely automated dumpling factory went viral on Chinese social media last year.

A couple of AI waiters, Little Blue and Little Peach, at a robot-themed restaurant in Yiwu

Robot waiters have been a fad for a number of years, with restaurants keen to draw customers with novel experiences, as well as saving on staff costs. Robotic waiters can be frustratingly slow for hungry diners though. Most move along pre-programmed tracks, and for some restaurants they have proved more trouble than they’re worth.

But the rise of China’s robot industry is a core part of Beijing’s economic ambitions. Beijing’s Robotics Industry Development Plan is a five-year programme that targets the production of at least 100,000 industrial robots a year by 2020.

A robot waiter makes her rounds in Kunshan in 2016

According to figures from the International Federation of Robots, China is already the biggest shareholder of the robotic global market at a net worth of $30bn. Foxconn has cut tens of thousands of employees by replacing them with machine labour, reportedly deploying more than 40,000 factory robots, and has said it aims to achieve 30% automation by 2020.

The rise of the robots also ties in with heavy public and private investment in facial recognition and AI. In Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, local authorities have been using facial recognition to target jaywalkers. Those caught crossing the road illegally have their photos taken, and after being identified can be publicly named and shamed on large screens by the roadside – and even sent fines automatically via instant messaging.

Back at the China Construction Bank in Shanghai, Xiao Long is not burdened by any of these mortal problems. “If you have any questions, just ask me!” When probed on her future career prospects, she just smiles and blinks.

首家“无人银行”现身上海

站在银行营业大厅排队办理业务时，你是否会想到有一天，银行的营业大厅不再需要保安、不再需要大堂经理、不再需要柜员？如今，这一幕已成为现实。近日，在上海九江路303号，中国建设银行打造了国内首家无人银行。

站在这里，让人感觉这不是在银行营业大厅，而是处于高科技应用科普展厅。刷身份证或者绑定过的建行卡就可以通过人脸识别的闸门进入无人银行大厅。客户经理是名叫“小龙人”的智能机器人，它可以和用户非常流畅地交流。当记者问“小龙人”去哪里开卡时，“小龙人”带着记者行驶到智慧柜员机旁，通过操作机器，就能非常便捷地领到新开的建行卡。在大厅的正中央，还展示着黄金等理财投资品，不过这并非实物，而是通过全息成像显示屏让消费者看到与实物一模一样的金条等产品立体影像。

据了解，90%以上现金及非现金业务都能在无人银行通过机器办理，VIP客户还可以享受1对1专线在线视频咨询服务。客户除了办理业务外，还能享受网上商城购物、在合照墙拍照留念、免费阅读电子书等系列服务。

不过，也有人体验无人银行后表示，无人银行可能更加适合年轻人，对老年人来说应用并不方便。恒丰银行研究院执行院长董希淼认为，建设无人银行应该价格不菲，在人们越来越少去网点的情况下，是否有必要打造“高大上”的网点？未来支行网点的建设方向是轻型化、智能化、场景化，无人银行目前做到了智能化，还需要在轻型化和场景化方向努力。

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Business Tianjin 2018 May Issue

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