A new research report from Coconut Software, developed in partnership with Future Branches Insights, reveals a significant disconnect between how financial institutions perceive their hybrid banking capabilities and their actual operational maturity. The report, titled Branch Forward: How Financial Institutions Are Investing in Technology, Scheduling, and the Future of CX, is based on a survey of 100 senior financial institution leaders across the U.S. and Canada.
While 76% of respondents say they deliver an integrated hybrid banking experience, only 3% describe their maturity as truly "intelligent" or "optimized." This gap extends to workforce management: 61% of institutions frequently struggle to forecast staffing requirements to meet customer demand, with an additional 38% experiencing this challenge occasionally. The findings underscore a critical operational gap as banks and credit unions seek to improve branch performance.
The report highlights a surge in AI adoption as institutions work to address these challenges. More than half (56%) of respondents are already implementing AI in specific departments or workflows, while 22% are scaling AI institution-wide. Additionally, over half have formal investment plans for AI-driven scheduling (58%), intelligent advisor matching (58%), and demand forecasting (53%) within the next 18 months.
Scheduling is increasingly viewed not just as an operational function but as a revenue driver. According to the report, 54% of respondents focus most on appointment conversion value—revenue per appointment—as their key scheduling metric, and 38% rank conversion optimization as their top business priority for the next 12 months.
Other key findings include a preference for best-of-breed, integration-first vendor strategies (55%) over vendor consolidation. When funding new technology, 65% say strategic alignment is one of the two most important factors, while 42% cite customer impact metrics such as NPS and CSAT. Total cost of ownership is the most important factor in build-vs-buy decisions for 46% of respondents.
"Financial institutions have made significant progress connecting physical and digital banking, but the next stage of maturity isn't about adding more channels—it's about making every interaction more purposeful and productive," said Katherine Regnier, CEO of Coconut Software. "That requires institutions to better predict demand, connect the right people in the right place at the right time, and tie every interaction to clear outcomes. The institutions that solve that operational layer will be best positioned to turn hybrid banking into a true growth engine."
Designed for operations, retail banking, customer experience, and digital transformation leaders, the report offers data-backed insights into AI adoption, workforce planning, scheduling maturity, and technology investment. The full findings are available for download at Coconut Software's website.
