I don't know how it works in the US but in the German retail banking market there is only one clearly superior pathway to compete and this is through abolishing

I don't know how it works in the US but in the German retail banking market there is only one clearly superior pathway to compete and this is through abolishing the banks local presence all together. Our credit unions are not competitive and will have to merge away into a direct bank at some point. They currently survive on path dependencies. Germany is a cash heavy market & free universal ATMs are omnipresent. Ironically mostly through credit unions.