According to an American Psychological Association survey, 72 percent of Americans have felt stressed about money within the past month, with half reporting that the stress significantly impacted their quality of sleep.

In fact, another recent study found that four out of five Seattleites believe they would be happier if they felt more confident in their personal finances, over half of are not able to invest more in their passions because of a financial obstacle, and less than one-third feel confident when thinking about their personal finances.* With so many people in our nation, and even our own community, feeling this way, how can we go about mapping out the right path to personal finance success?

Enter Capital One. Through its innovative Capital One Cafés and the “Banking Reimagined^SM Tour” that will be making a stop in Westlake Park this weekend, Capital One is aiming to redesign the banking experience by making things simple, straightforward, and built around empowering people to feel more confident in their relationship with their money.

“Personal finance has evolved with our digital economy,” says Lia Dean, Head of Capital One Cafés. “We want to create experiences that fit more naturally into people’s lives. And that really comes to life in two ways–innovative products and digital tools, and also the human connection we know people still crave.”

Soon, two new Seattle-area Capital One Cafés will open to the public. The Cafes, one located in South Lake Union and another in Bellevue, will join Cafes across the country, including locations in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco, and St. Cloud, with plans to open in South Florida later this year.

Located at 333 Westlake Avenue, the Capital One Café in South Lake Union will offer more than 12,000 square feet of space for banking, meeting and socializing—with three nooks, two meeting rooms, and four on-premise ATMs. The location at 400 Bellevue Way NE in Bellevue will be 7,800 square feet and also include three nooks, two meeting rooms, and four ATMs. The Capital One Café is a place where people can recharge their bank accounts, devices, and lives while learning new ways to manage their finances, try out new digital and financial tools, or simply grab a great cup of coffee or local pastry.

“Our Capital One Cafés are about solving our visitor’s financial problems and helping them reach their money goals,” Dean adds. “We started the journey two years ago talking to Americans about their money and we learned three big things. First, most of the time they’re banking digitally. Second, while technology makes their money lives easier, it hasn’t solved their stress over their financial lives. And lastly, they don’t know where to turn to relieve that money stress.”

The fact that Capital One has broadened its repertoire into this nontraditional space for banking should come as little surprise. The company has been at the forefront of digital banking since it entered the industry, and the Cafés are one way they are reimagining banking. At the Cafés, customers will be able to learn about award-winning accounts that offer no fees or minimums, while engaging with interactive screens that feature fun, helpful money content and demo bars that showcase the latest digital tools that can help you better manage your money. Capital One is even launching a first-of-its-kind Money Coaching program, a complimentary personalized service designed to connect your values to your money so you can better plan a path for your future financial goals to give you the confidence to make it happen.

Capital One is also launching a ten-market, consumer-facing tour starting this month.

The “Banking Reimagined^SM Tour” gives a glimpse of one of the ways Capital One is changing how people think about their money and money goals. Like the Cafés, the tour is designed to connect with and guide consumers along their personal financial journey. The traveling tour will introduce consumers to innovative services and programs designed to deliver financial empowerment in compelling, nontraditional, and technology-forward ways. It features a state-of-the-art, 54-foot trailer housing a smart, personalized and digital experience open to the public, including:

• Touchscreens that allow you to prioritize personal values and goals, demonstrating how your outlook shapes the way you view money.
• An augmented reality experience with 3-D holograms in real space and time that brings your financial goals to life. Video selfie booths where you can record a message to your future self as a reminder of your money goals.

In the end, these efforts echo one of Capital One’s core beliefs: Personal finance doesn’t need to be stressful. Both the tour and the Capital One Cafés hope to make that goal a reality.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17 and 18.

WHERE: Westlake Park 401 Pine St., Seattle.

For more information on the Capital One Banking Reimagined^SM Tour, visit http://bankingreimagined.capitalone.com or tweet @CapitalOneCafe.

*According to a 2017 local market survey fielded by Toluna on behalf of Capital One