Will the big banks ever get with the times?

RG2015

Flobberchops wrote: »

I recently wandered into a branch of Metro Bank to open a savings account and I have to say I was pleasantly impressed by all the breaks they make with "traditional" banking industry standards. Things like instant card issuance as standard on opening a current account. Bulk coin deposit machine. Safe deposit boxes. Open seven days a week. Opening hours that cleverly don't coincide with their average customer's working day of nine to five. It's only when one bank challenges the norms that you realise so much of the "industry standard" isn't immutable, it's just B.S. that is the product of fear and laziness.

Going forward I think the concept of non-working days will fall by the wayside. There would be protests in the street if you only had access to the internet, or electricity, or even something as trivial as television, on weekdays and (if you're lucky) a few hours on a Saturday. Why should your money be in limbo from close of business on Friday to Monday morning? It's a complete anachronism given we live in the digital age. I also think we'll see the effective death of cheques within our lifetimes.

The big banks are making big profits and are not losing more than a fraction of their business to the newer banks. What incentive is there for them to change this?

I do though agree that the public has been conditioned to accept these "industry standards". It does sound appealing to have real-time banking and 24/7 access to banking services. But in practice this doesn't actually offer me any tangible benefit.

kidmugsy

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

Yes they did find a profitable use for the vault - it is probably now a wine bar.

This one certainly isn't. I had hoped that a plutocrat might have bought it and converted it into his emergency bolthole: to be fair, if that had happened I don't suppose it would be public knowledge.

Thrugelmir

Flobberchops wrote: »

I recently wandered into a branch of Metro Bank to open a savings account and I have to say I was pleasantly impressed by all the breaks they make with "traditional" banking industry standards. Things like instant card issuance as standard on opening a current account. Bulk coin deposit machine. Safe deposit boxes. Open seven days a week. Opening hours that cleverly don't coincide with their average customer's working day of nine to five. It's only when one bank challenges the norms that you realise so much of the "industry standard" isn't immutable, it's just B.S. that is the product of fear and laziness.

An expensive format to operate though. The day that free current account banking ends in the UK. There'll be an uproar. As people realise that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

kidmugsy

RG2015 wrote: »

It does sound appealing to have real-time banking and 24/7 access to banking services. But in practice this doesn't actually offer me any tangible benefit.

Long ago we lived in Edinburgh where the banks had opened on Saturday mornings for ages, and a couple of branches were trialling Sunday opening. We moved to England where the second of those was illegal and the first was unheard of. "There's no demand" the morons chanted, ignoring the evidence from North of the Border.

Consider a young couple, both working. They wanted to visit their bank to discuss a mortgage. With the sodding banks closed all weekend how were they to arrange it? No wonder the Building Societies opened on Saturday mornings.

The banks' response was to complain to the Prime Minister that the BSs provided unfair competition. Hence Mrs Thatcher's famous reply "Try opening on Saturdays".

takman

ValiantSon wrote: »

All of your comments boil down to you not making use of these services and you not liking them. You are perfectly entitled to behave in this way, but your views become extremely narrow when applied to the rest of the population; not everyone is the same as you.

You cannot dismiss the use of cash within the economy just because you don't think it should be so. Lots of people do make significant use of cash irrespective of how they are paid, and not everyone is paid by electronic transfer. There remains a need for people to be able to easily deposit cash into their accounts. The same goes for cheques. As an example, I suggest that you look at how solicitors settle inheritance payments.

What I'm saying is that people don't really need to use branches unless they are paying in cash considering that more can be done via telephone banking from the comfort of your home, or anywhere you want from a mobile. People mainly use them because they like to use them.

I'm not dismissing the use of cash in just saying unless your paid in cash you can avoid having to pay any into the bank by simply spending it as you normally would.

Like I said if someone can give a reason why branches are actually needed for anything other than paying in cash i would be very interested.

But I don't see how a branch is an easy way to deposit cash and cheques when they are only open when most people are at work!. A machine outside available 24/4 24/7 would be far better.

ValiantSon wrote: »

For the record, I make very little use of cash (save for paying my gardener - which remains the most convenient way to pay him) and neither do I often write cheques, but I still sometimes receive them. I do, however, recognise that the way I live my life and manage my finances is not the way that everyone does, nor is it the "correct" way. It is a way of doing it, just as yours is, but neither of us are "correct".

mgdavid

takman wrote: »

That's the main financial benefit of the accounts and the reason I have them. I also have the Halifax Clarity card which was the only card to work in foreign toll booths!.
.........

Why in earth would you want to use a card in a foreign toll booth?
Get with the 21st century technology and use a tag mounted on the windscreen, fly through at 30 mph and leave the dullards behind.

mgdavid

takman wrote: »

.......
But I don't see how a branch is an easy way to deposit cash and cheques when they are only open when most people are at work!. A machine outside available 24/4 would be far better.

Have you any idea of the relatively small percentage of the population who actually work only during banking hours, or even work at all?
Your narrow view shows again...

takman

mgdavid wrote: »

Have you any idea of the relatively small percentage of the population who actually work only during banking hours, or even work at all?
Your narrow view shows again...

So you think having banking facilities available 24/7 so everyone can use them is a narrow view compared to having them available only 9 - 5 Monday to Friday... :rotfl

mgdavid wrote: »

Why in earth would you want to use a card in a foreign toll booth?
Get with the 21st century technology and use a tag mounted on the windscreen, fly through at 30 mph and leave the dullards behind.

No thanks you have to pay for them and you need a different one for Spain and France so not very money saving!

eskbanker

takman wrote: »

But I don't see how a branch is an easy way to deposit cash and cheques when they are only open when most people are at work!. A machine outside available 24/4 would be far better.

Seems a bit of a retrograde step to be moving towards banking services only being available 4 days a week!

JuicyJesus

I had an account with Starling. It was a bank account, and appeared to do basic bank account things. The overdraft wasn't any cheaper than other banks', the app worked nicely but not nicely enough for me to switch everything to it, particularly since (at least at the time) you couldn't use it via a browser.

I'm not really sure what else they did that other banks don't. I want cheques gone too, they're a fraud magnet and basically pointless in this day and age, but while people insist on using them or wanting them the existing banks rather have to take them. It's a bit silly to criticise them on that basis given that they wanted to phase them out by 2013 but had to back down after everyone started screaming about how elderly people are too stupid to use cards or Direct Debits.

This is a bit of a silly thread, basically. Instant purchase notifications are nice enough (I have that with my American Express card) but if that's your evidence as to why the entire banking sector is fundamentally broken then you're a bit myopic to say the least.