Open since 2016 with a new design, this remarkable Deutsche Bank branch in Berlin has been called “Q110 Bank” or “Bank of the Future.” Now just known as Quartier Zukunft, we remain enthralled by the unique banking space with a cafe, greenhouse, meeting spaces and, of course, banking.
Early in 2016, we wrote about a new kind of banking experience by Deutsche Bank called “Q110 Bank” or “Bank of the Future.” We were quite enthralled by the casual and friendly, yet efficient and hard-working experience.
Granted, it can be a little alarming at first to search for a bank on the web and walk over to the front door, only to be stopped dead in your tracks, starting into a wide-open space that leaves you co*cking your head and furrowing your brow: Is this really a bank? Or a coffee shop? Or a boutique??? Am I in the right place? Where are the counters? The offices?
Q110 Bank of the Future worth a visit
Read our first story about Deutsche Bank’s one and only “Bank of the Future,” a.k.a. Q110 by clicking here. Whether you have bank business to take care of – and who doesn’t have bank business when traveling? – or are simply in the area, the Bank of the Future (“Bank der Zukunft”) is a worthy visit for Berlin travelers — FYI, the bank’s name is now just Quartier Zukunft.
After doing business over coffee and cookies, being offered prosecco if the lines were a tad long, and generally feeling very relaxed on our last visits, we emailed with bank personnel to discover what the Q110 at Friedrichstrasse 181 was all about. Q110 (or Quartier 110, was what the area in Berlin in former East Germany was called) is literally a branch– the only one of its kind – where the bank tests different concepts, from business partnerships, to layouts, to ways of doing business, heck to meals and coffees.
Completely new design at Quartier Zukunft unveiled
The concept we wrote about had been active for several years without much change (the branch itself originally opened in 2005), so Deutsche Bank decided it was time to re-think its original “concept bank” and try out something different. The update was unveiled on Nov. 18, 2016, on a rainy day near the outlet not far from Checkpoint Charlie in central Berlin (Mitte).
Generally speaking, things are the same: Open space, no really formal counters, albeit there are a few private offices for one-on-one meetings, lots of digital technology, spaces with tables and chairs that can be converted into the kind of space needed (e.g. for education in the so-called Q Club), an open office format for staff, a children’s play area (Q Kids) and, of course, a café (expanded even!).
Menu boards grace the wall as a way for anybody, from customers, to travelers, to area workers, to passers-by, to wander in, order a light meal, sweet or beverage and hang out for a while. Welcome all!
You may even be greeted by a chatty robot wandering around, who told one visitor out of the blue: “I am guessing you are about 30.”
We’ll avoid the little creature guessing our ages, but we’ll most certainly drop in to the Q110 Bank of the Future by Deutsche Bank when we are traveling in Berlin.
HITT Tip: To get to the Quartier Zukunft bank, you can take the U2 or U6 underground to “Stadtmitte.” The Bank of the Future is also only about two blocks from the Gendarmenmarket, where there are concerts, events and a huge Christmas market, and from the famous Deutscher Dom cathedral. Checkpoint Charlie is only about 550 meters (a third of a mile) south on the same street.
Insider Berlin Travel Tips
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Research your visit to Berlin by looking at all the articles and recommendations we have made from personal experience here.
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