In 1965, Aalten enjoyed a national scoop. The Rabobank on Hofstraat opened that year and featured the very first drive-through counter in the Netherlands.
“That our bank knows how to keep up with the times is evident from this photograph, which depicts the modern, fully automatic outdoor counter—or, if you will, the drive-through counter.
This counter is located in the front façade under a canopy. Motorists no longer need to step out of their cars to come inside to settle their financial affairs. Sitting in their cars, they can handle their banking via a microphone and an ingenious switching system.
Here, it truly applies: one has the microphone, the other the steering wheel, and between them, the counter. This is how business is done at an outdoor counter. Naturally, non-motorists can also make use of this outdoor facility.”
Drive-through counter
From a conversation with former director J. Beun in April 2014, by Ina Brethouwer:
“Upon my arrival in 1959, the Coöperatieve Boerenleenbank was growing, but the Kerkstraat location was an old building. It either had to be renovated or replaced by a new building. There were plans for a merger with the Middenstandsbank, but we had to deal with two fierce opponents. Much attention was paid to these customers of the Middenstandsbank.
Behind the old bank, as seen from Kerkstraat, lay many small allotments. This is the land where the Rabobank on Hofstraat stands today. A long series of discussions with all the owners followed, and all the plots were bought up.
Developments continued, and construction of the new bank began in the early sixties. We could not find the specific flooring we wanted for the new building in the Netherlands, so we visited Germany several times. There, we repeatedly encountered the Autoschalter.
And so, Aalten secured the Dutch premiere of the Autoschalter, the outdoor counter for cars. You drove up in your car and were served via a drawer. You placed your items in the drawer, there was a speaker-and-microphone link, the drawer was pulled inside, and the requested items were then pushed back out to you.
The new bank building was constructed eight metres back from the road with a view to future expansion. During construction, provision was also made for a second automatic counter underground in the basement. However, that development did not proceed, not even in Germany, due to the advent of bank cards and other equipment.
The merger of the two Aalten banks went ahead. The new name became: Coöperatieve Aaltense Boerenleenbank Middenstandsbank. It all went well; it was a proportional distribution and never became a matter of prestige.”
