THE IMPACT OF TELEMEDIATED SERVICES ON CORPORATE STRUCTURES - THE EXAMPLE OF BRANCHLESS RETAIL BANKING IN BRITAIN

In this paper we assess the spatial impact of 'branchless' retail bank ing which integrates telecommunications and computer technology to pro vide personal financial services remotely. We show that, in Britain, f inancial institutions are concentrating retail services into a small n umber of low-cost sites on the edge of cities in the north of the coun try, and exporting the services to more expensive locations. Associate d with locational shifts is a rationalisation of corporate hierarchies and the introduction of a more 'entrepreneurial' approach to selling bank services, involving new types of gender-segmented work.