“Barer41” sounds like a bar, looks like a hip café, but is a new concept branch of the Stadtsparkasse (SSKM) – at Barerstrasse 41, at the corner of Schellingstrasse. It is aimed at young adults, especially students at the universities in Maxvorstadt. That’s why there is a café counter here instead of a bank counter, with an intricate lamp hanging above it. Walls and pillars are tiled in dark green, cables and pipes run freely under the ceiling. And Sparkasse red is everywhere. Ceiling beams, sofas, napkins and the tiles of the toilets. Everything red, everything brand new.
CEO Ralf Fleischer says a separate team has been looking after students for four years, now numbering more than 13,000 – so far mainly via video calls. This often involves the first tax return, early retirement planning or the requirements for founding a start-up. Young people are particularly interested in sensible investments, says Fleischer. You rarely get risky tips about this at school and you get more and more risky tips on the internet. They now want to offer this advice personally.
The coffee at the counter is free. Students can book rooms on an hourly basis via the Sparkasse website to do group work for the university. You don’t have to have a savings bank account. Consultations will take place at bar tables and on sofas.
Traditional banks don’t have it easy with the young target group. ETFs are popular as an investment, the building savings contract is out. You are not afraid of the new competition, says Fleischer, because you have “the best banking app” according to Stiftung Warentest. “But many people don’t know about our offers,” he admits. “Barer41” is of course also about winning new customers, says Sabine Schölzel, board member of the Stadtsparkasse.
The bank also admits that criticism of the branch’s renovation comes from the neighborhood, especially from older regular customers. There are many in this age group for whom the step to online banking is a hurdle. In recent years, the Sparkasse has repeatedly justified the closure of branches by saying that demand is decreasing due to online banking. Now the “Barer41” branch is aimed at young customers who find it easier to do things online. Fleischer emphasizes the exceptions to this rule: Many young customers want advice in person, many old ones have no problem with online banking. And it is not unusual for there to be dissatisfaction wherever an offer is posted. No further branches of this type are planned, and the offer is aimed at all customers.
Sabine Derheld leads the student advisory team, previously primarily digitally, but now also on site. Most of the eleven consultants are younger than thirty, and they all wear hoodies today – red ones, of course. They were allowed to help shape the concept, and they consciously chose not to wear the usual Sparkasse suit. Pyramids made of YFood bottles stand on the bar tables. Maybe this will also attract start-up founders to “Barer41”.