Post-crisis a lot of people don’t trust banks. You can’t really
blame them, it’s just the way things are now. That mistrust hasn’t stopped people
using their banks, of course – where else would they keep their money? Apart
from stuffing it into the mattress there isn’t much choice.
Never fear,
those of you clamouring for a different way to do banking (raise your hands –
anyone?), as a wave of digital-only banks have arrived to save the day.
In the UK, especially, the market has been inundated with
new-age banks professing to be the cure to the ‘broken’ banking system. That
cure apparently means that you never have to step into a branch again.
Fidor Bank, Atom Bank, Civilised Bank, Mondo, Monese and Lintel Bank (to
name a few) have all emerged to offer UK consumers a different way to do
banking. But do consumers want to bank differently? Squaring up to the giant
retail banks is no easy task, especially as each can call upon near limitless
resources to create solutions similar to those of a digital-only.
Granted, some of the banking start-ups have some novel ways
to help people do their banking. Monese, for example, allows refugees and expats
the chance to make transactions to and from foreign bank accounts, giving users
much need funds as they try and set up a UK account.
I step into one of my bank’s branches maybe once or twice a
year, if that. I almost entirely use its digital and internet offerings to do
all of my transactions and payments. That doesn’t mean I will suddenly jump
ship to a new bank because it offers me what it thinks is 'a better service'.
On that
topic, mobile-only and digital-only banks lack the face-to-face service
provided by retailers. Instead, customers will have to take all of their queries
and issues through an online form (or, in some banks’ cases, a call centre).
In my experience, face-to-face troubleshooting is far more
effective than trying to describe a problem over the internet to someone who
has no indication of your mood. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe a majority
of the public (even those in the younger generations) would prefer the feeling
of security that comes with stepping into a brick-and-mortar building to make a
complaint or raise an issue.
The emerging digital banks are making a good fight of it,
though: many already have flourishing social media presences and pump out press
releases like a well-oiled machine. They’re definitely here to stay (at least
until their profits run dry) and are ready to make a lot of noise and shake their
proverbial fists at the high-street giants.
Whether anyone will listen, though, is a different matter
entirely.
Junior Reporter, IBS Intelligence
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