Santander Bank Polska announced the opening of its first Work/Cafe-type branch in Poland. It combines the functionalities of a bank, a cafe and a coworking space. It is located at the ground floor of Złota 44, the famed Liebeskind skyscraper.

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The new branch concept was created in Banco Santander's Chile division, where 47 such branches have already been opened. Customers in Warsaw can now go to the branch to have coffee, work, meet a client or do a presentation - after booking a room with a projector in advance. There is also a typical bank branch where you can talk to a customer advisor or take care of your finances without leaving the cafe table.

Santander also announced that it will host meetings with various experts at the Work/Cafe with the aim of developing the customers’ business knowledge with new marketing or entrepreneurial skills. Planned events include women's networking organized by Ted Warsaw Women and a business plan workshop.

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Santander account holders can book the business meeting room for free. They also get a 30 percent discount on drinks and snacks at the cafe. The cafe/coworking space is open Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. The bank branch is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Cashless.pl wrote about Santander's plan to introduce the new branch format in Poland before the end of last year. Bank branches that look more like cafes than traditional banks are, of course, nothing new on the Polish market. Idea Bank introduced them several years ago BNP Paribas has similar branches in its network as well. Santander is most likely not the last company to choose this direction in bank customer service.