Local insurance salesman Bob Thomas has been depositing and withdrawing money with financial institutions for more than 50 years, but it has been only in the past year that he's been freed from the constraints of bankers' hours.
"I travel quite a bit during the week, and I'll make it back into town late Friday and I just don't feel like going to the bank," Thomas said. "So I wait until Saturday or Sunday afternoon when I have more time."
Thomas, like other area residents, are finding benefits from a trend among bankers to be open longer hours and on weekends to help customers with hectic lifestyles.
"When I had weeklong trips, I would have to delay leaving until after I went to the bank on Monday morning," Thomas said. "Now I can go to the bank on Sunday and get an early start."
Thomas banks with the Corpus Christi branch of First State Bank of Austin inside the Super Kmart on South Padre Island Drive.
The bank is open nine hours on Saturday and five on Sunday, in addition to the 50 hours the bank is open during the week.
First State is not the only locally represented bank to offer customers more services, products and hours in drive-throughs and lobbies.
American Bank, NationsBank and several others are not only expanding hours, but offering popular services such as debit cards, "smart" telephone links, direct deposit of payroll checks and 24-hour personal-computer banking.
As technology continues to update, bankers say they will be implementing more tools for consumers to give them faster and better service.
NationsBank is among the local banks that offer banking by personal computer 24 hours a day.
"Quite a few years ago, banks offered home banking to customers, but it was cumbersome. People were not computer-literate and the technology not as advanced," said Jerry Gates, president of NationsBank-Corpus Christi. "Banks were trying to create the demand that wasn't there. Now it's quite the opposite. Now our customers are demanding it."
Gates said demand for personal-computer banking in Texas was so high, NationsBank was forced to curtail its marketing of the service because it couldn't keep up.
"We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get ahead of the game," Gates said. "Debit cards, credit cards and ATMs and all that electronic activity is increasing, and it's all becoming easier for the customers to use."
Gates said NationsBank hasn't recently surveyed the use of its electronic banking, but said he estimates that about 50 percent of the bank's customers utilize the technology and 90 percent use the ATM.
Many consumers also use phone systems offered by banks and credit unions to check balances, the clearing of deposits and checks, and in some cases, to apply for a loan.
Trey McCampbell, administrative officer for American Bank, said banks will likely continue to concentrate on new technology, but also will be paying attention to the one-on-one customer service they provide.
"(New technology) is bad if you lose the personal touch," McCampbell said.
American has begun staying open on federal holidays and Saturdays, and has expanded drive-through hours, McCampbell said.
Technology will continue to play a role as residents become more comfortable with new ways to handle their money, he said.
"Technology is impacting people of all income levels," McCampbell said. "Even with the advent of the Lone Star Card, people who couldn't afford a computer now know how to work the debit system. The more that technology is surrounding more and more people on a rapid basis, you will have more and more business electronically."