In China, a retail bank branch is now staffed by robots

Talking to a human financial adviser at your local bank may be a thing of the past. A bank in China has launched the world's first personless branch run entirely by technology. Customers are greeted by humanoids who answers inquiries via voice recognition. These banking humanoids are able to do most things a human assistant could, including opening accounts, transferring money and making investments. State-owned Beijing-based China Construction Bank (CCB) says its unmanned Shanghai branch will make banking more convenient and efficient. As well as talking robots, clients can explore the bank's latest home rental offerings using virtual reality headsets. According to the bank, it can handle 90 per cent of the demands of normal high street banks.