New Metrobank branch.

Archi_Bald

opinions4u wrote: »

While Barclays pricing is invariably poor, bar the occasional ISA, they have been consistently the most innovative bank over the last 50 years.

What does that mean - "the most innovative bank over the last 50 years"? What are the criteria, who sets them, who judges them, who are the contenders, what precisely has "most innovative" delivered to which people in monetary terms when?

Bloomberg

Archi_Bald wrote: »

What does that mean - "the most innovative bank over the last 50 years"? What are the criteria, who sets them, who judges them, who are the contenders, what precisely has "most innovative" delivered to which people in monetary terms when?

As mentioned in my previous post they are extremely innovative in that they are always pioneering new technology for their customers and are almost invariably the first to deliver. Their free text alerts and and mobile banking app could help people keep a closer eye on their finances and therefore budget more carefully. Surely in monetary terms this can only be a good thing.

Archi_Bald

Bloomberg wrote: »

My ISA is with HSBC and the rate is very good.

Suppose it depends on what you expect. AFAIC, if I can get 4.25% for my instant access ISA, I wouldn't settle for anything less. Barclays never got anywhere near this rate for instant access ISAs in the last 3 years.

Bloomberg wrote: »

You ask about innovation, Barclays have an excellent mobile app and there Internet banking is top notch.

We can probably argue until the cows come home over this - - - but IMO there is scarcely much difference in the online capabilities of the better known UK banks and BSs these days (Metrobank excepted, perhaps). On the mobile front, the capabilities might vary a bit more, but personally I don't care about mobile banking since I can do what I need to do in the safety of my home network, and on a screen the size that doesn't need a magnifying glass.

Bloomberg wrote: »

On the website you can also store documents, everything from utility bills to your driving licence.

Just about the last place on this planet I would want to store my bills and other documents would be a bank when I have a huge range of other options, starting from USB sticks, going to email providers with literally unlimited storage such as google, and ending at multiple numbers of specialist cloud storage providers such as Dropbox and Google Drive. Of course people will have all sorts of concerns about privacy and security, but just about the last lot I would trust on both these accounts are the bankers. They should stick to handling money transfers and keeping money secure, and leave other data storage to experts in that field.

Bloomberg wrote: »

They were the first to introduce the debit card and contactless payments. Very innovative in my opinion.

Thing is, unless there are others in the industry playing ball, no single company can drive innovation. For instance, a contactless card is useless unless there are a huge number of merchants that accept it. No merchant will accept new methods of payments unless there is a very convincing Business Case, and customers won't be sold on new methods of payment unless they can use that new method in a lot of places. So Barclays may have got to market with implementations of new technology before any of the other banks and BSs did, but they certainly weren't pioneering things. And even if they had, without the rest of the industry (or certainly the rest of the big players) also cordonning on on a large scale, any technological advancement is irrelevant.

Bloomberg

Archi_Bald wrote: »

What does that mean - "the most innovative bank over the last 50 years"? What are the criteria, who sets them, who judges them, who are the contenders, what precisely has "most innovative" delivered to which people in monetary terms when?

innovative [ˈɪnəˌveɪtɪv]
adj
using or showing new methods, ideas, etc.


Contactless payments

The debit card

Mobile banking

Cloud it - storing important documents on line.

The first UK cash machine in 1967.


I rest my case my dear sir.

:T

rb10

Bloomberg wrote: »

As mentioned in my previous post they are extremely innovative in that they are always pioneering new technology for their customers and are almost invariably the first to deliver. Their free text alerts and and mobile banking app could help people keep a closer eye on their finances and therefore budget more carefully. Surely in monetary terms this can only be a good thing.

Agree with the sentiment, but your examples aren't the best. Free text alerts and a decent mobile banking app are fairly standard across most banks now (with the notable exception of HSBC).

If you're particularly interested in new technology at its early days (e.g. having a contactless card before shops had contactless terminals, or their Pingit app that, as far as I know, is still barely used by anyone) then Barclays are a reasonable choice for the gimmicks.

But for good value, you're much better off looking elsewhere.

Bloomberg wrote: »

On the website you can also store documents, everything from utility bills to your driving licence.

Why on earth would I want to store my driving licence in my online banking?!

System

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Worth noting also that the only way you can pay the credit card is by direct debit from your Metrobank current account. This is the only credit card on the market I know that has such a restriction.

Hmmm, you may be right but it isn't as straightforward as that. I recently applied for a Santander 123 credit card to avail myself of the cashback scheme. The card has a charge of £24 pa which is refunded for the first year if the direct debit is setup on your Santander 123 current account.

I've recently returned to Metro Bank after a problem with my debit card was dealt with very well recently. I have my salary paid in and use it for my day to day banking
.
I've often seen their online banking criticised, but I am at a loss to know what else people want Metro bank to provide? You can see transactions, statements, setup, cancel and amend bill payments, transfer money, setup, amend and cancel standing orders, see and cancel direct debits, send secure messages to the bank, order a cheque book - what else do you people want? What does your bank provide which is missing from Metro Bank's online service? Yes, very occasionally it might be difficult to log on, but I have had this problem with all banks I have had an account with.

As regards not going abroad very often, well I often purchase items online from abroad - I was stung paying with my previous NatWest debit card, Metro Bank is free of charges and commission AND gets a good exchange rate.

System

rb10 wrote: »

Agree with the sentiment, but your examples aren't the best. Free text alerts and a decent mobile banking app are fairly standard across most banks now (with the notable exception of HSBC).

Again, not as black & white as that. I moved from an iPhone to a Windows Phone (so much better, lol) but the only UK bank I am aware of which currently provides a banking app is RBS/NatWest. Those who choose not to enter the cult of Apple, or the chaos which is Android don't have access to banking apps from most banks yet.