'BANKLESS' CUSTOMERS OFFERED ATM SERVICE BY KING SOOPERS

DENISE ZIMMERMAN

DENVER -- King Soopers has put its own spin on in-store banking with a new, automated service that targets "bankless" customers.

What distinguishes the service from other in-store banking systems is that it specifically targets King Soopers' customers who don't have bank accounts but regularly line up at the chain's check-cashing counters. Under the new system, transactions are still initiated at the customer service counter; however, cash is dispensed via an in-store automated teller machine.

"I look at it as a convenience for the customer," said Don Gallegos, president of King Soopers here. "You'd be surprised to find out how many people don't have a traditional bank account."

Gallegos said the service was introduced in March and is now in place in 14 stores. Customer acceptance of the program will be monitored before deciding whether to roll it out to other store locations.

The automated service is operated independently from leased bank branches, which are already in place at 20 of King Soopers' 69 store locations, he said.

To enroll in the program, customers provide a payroll or government benefit check to HALcard Banking Services, also here, which issues them an ATM card and assigns a personal identification number. No other qualifying measures are taken, enabling nearly anyone to open an account.

To cash their payroll or benefit checks, account holders now step up to King Soopers' service counters and deposit their checks; after a customer service employee approves the transaction through a check authorization unit, the customer steps over to an in-store ATM to withdraw all or part of the check amount.

King Soopers estimates that customers who previously spent up to 3 minutes to cash a check -- and had to take all the cash with them -- will be able to perform the task in as little as 30 seconds, and withdraw only the cash they need.

"We wanted to find a way to better serve our supermarket 'guests' who may not have bank accounts and have come to rely so heavily on our check-cashing services," said Steve Katzenberger, King Sooper's executive director of retail operations.

Other banking services offered through the HALcard Banking system include a direct deposit option for payroll and government benefit checks, a Reserve Fund savings account and a secured credit card.

A new service, called Paycheck Welcome, accommodates payroll check cashing needs; the customer pays a $2 transaction fee and in return receives a $2 certificate good for merchandise purchased in the store within 30 days.

Customer deposits are Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-insured through Citiwide Bank of Denver and withdrawals can be made on ATMs nationwide.

HALcard Banking systems have been in place at six Colorado Cub Foods supermarkets and Bigg's Hypermarket in Thornton for the past year, according to HALcard Banking's president, Hal Niernberger.