Bank of America opened its 29th Utah financial center in Orem. Head of Financial Centers Will Smayda explains why physical branches still matter when most customers go digital, and how the bank uses AI and fraud prevention.
OREM, Utah – October 14, 2026
From the windows of Bank of America's newest financial center on 1320 South State Street in Orem, the traffic is hard to miss. Bank of America's Utah President Mori Paulson says that intersection is the second-busiest intersection in the state. Inside, the bank cut a ribbon on its 29th Utah location, a milestone that raises an obvious question in an era when most customers never need to walk into a branch.
Will Smayda, Bank of America's Head of Financial Centers, who was in town for the latest grand opening event, has an answer. Nearly 92% of customers go digital as soon as they join the bank, he told TechBuzz in an in-person interview. But a physical presence still shapes behavior. "You may be shopping banks, and if you do not see a Bank of America in your community, you may never visit," he said. According to Smayda, digital sales in a neighborhood rise about 30% once the bank opens a physical location.
A branch as a growth engine
Smayda, who oversees over 3,500 financial centers, sat down with TechBuzz and described the modern financial center as part service and advice ecosystem, part marketing engine and part extension of the digital experience. Customers can still stop by on a lunch hour or Saturday morning, he said, but institutional clients also want a nearby bank. He cited universities and hospital systems as examples. The Orem center sits between two large universities, BYU and UVU, and within Utah's celebrated Silicon Slopes tech corridor.
Reaching Orem took years. Smayda said the bank originally pictured it as its fifth Utah center, but the right site was slow to open up, and the location finally became its 29th. Bank of America began planning its Utah growth about 12 years ago, when it envisioned roughly 13 centers statewide. The count has since more than doubled.
Utah's appeal, Smayda said, includes its universities and medical systems, a diversified economy and strong population growth, including customers moving in from California, Florida and Texas, where Bank of America holds the top market share, according to Smayda.
Bank of America has had a Utah presence since 1946 through Merrill, its wealth management arm, the speakers said at the ribbon cutting. It brought its other lines of business to the state starting in 2019.
AI behind the counter
Regarding the use of AI in banking operations, Smayda said technology is "a tool to advance a strategy, not a strategy in and of itself."
Customers can interact with Erica, the bank's virtual assistant, which has been around for about a decade. Smayda said the bank built Erica internally, so it controls "everything going in and everything coming out."
For employees, there is a separate tool called Erica Assist that helps staff search policies and procedures to answer complex client questions faster. Smayda described it as a summary and search tool that spares employees from memorizing an encyclopedia. The policies themselves, he said, remain with the employee. Another tool, called Plan My Day, helps bankers and advisors prepare for client meetings by gathering information on a client's industry and relevant trends.
On the Merrill side, Bank of America President for Utah, Mori Paulsen, said the wealth management arm uses Microsoft Copilot to cut annual-review preparation from about two hours to 20 minutes.
New technology goes through an internal sandbox first, Smayda said, then is tested with a banker or advisor and a client before wider rollout. He put Bank of America's annual technology spending at roughly $3.5 billion to $4 billion.
Fighting fraud
Fraud was a central theme in the conversation with Smayda. He said the bank's priority is protecting clients' personal information and digital identity, and that its work falls into two categories: confirming that the person on a call or digital session is who they claim to be, and intervening when customers are targeted by scams. Verifying identity is easier in a financial center, where staff can sit across the table from a client, he said, but about 99% of interactions are now digital. When the bank can spot a warning sign in a client's behavior or digital footprint, it tries to step in before money leaves the account; otherwise it helps customers try to recover funds.
The bank will hold about 1,000 fraud-education seminars nationwide this year with senior clients, Smayda said. It does not publish the specific steps it takes, he said, so as not to give criminals a road map.
Paulsen said Bank of America has also offered its expertise to Attorney General Derek Brown's fraud task force. Utah's AG’s office manages Utah’s statewide White Collar Crime Offender Registry. Utah was the first state in the nation to create a public registry for individuals convicted of felony white-collar crimes, giving residents and business owners a tool to screen potential business partners or investment offers.
Community investment
At the event, Utah Market Executive Kate Moss and Bank President Mori Paulson presented a ceremonial check to Abe Young, CFO for the organization, Saprea, a nonprofit that works with adult survivors of child sexual abuse. They also recognized Habitat for Humanity as a community partner.
Bank of America focuses its giving on workforce development and homeownership. In Utah, it awards Neighborhood Builders grants of $200,000 in unrestricted funding, though only one Utah organization will receive one this year, Moss said.
Its Student Leaders program, previously covered by TechBuzz, gives four rising seniors paid internships with nonprofits each year. The regional executive for the bank's expansion markets also pointed to homebuyer grants of up to $17,500.
By the numbers
According to Bank of America, the Orem center is part of a plan to open 150 new financial centers nationwide by 2027 as part of the bank's $5 billion investmewnt plan for the US. The company has invested $42 million in its Utah financial center footprint and plans $11 million more through 2029. It operates 29 financial centers and 83 ATMs in Utah, employs 380 people in the state, and recently raised its minimum hourly wage to $25.
Learn more at bankofamerica.com.
