Banker & Tradesman file photo

Boston will be one of five cities in five states to get Santander’s latest experiment in branch formats.

The bank announced Wednesday it was renovating one of its Boston branches into what it plans to call a “financial center,” a stripped-down branch where deposit and withdrawal functions are shifted over to an ATM and branch staff are instead used to offer one-on-one help to customers with questions about Santander’s mobile app and other online banking products.

In an email, a bank spokesperson said that bankers and financial advisors would still be available at the experimental “financial center,” and said that “nearly any transaction that was previously done over the counter with a teller” would still be possible.

The five pilot sites will help the bank refine its future branch design, Santander said in its announcement, noting its goal was “to transform into a digital bank with branches.”

Santander closed 39 Massachusetts branches last year on top of 30 shuttered in 2021. The bank also restructured its U.S. businesses last year and laid off the head of its commercial banking division.