Metro bank

decoray

MSE is often praising First Direct Bank regarding it's satisfaction and service, and listing other banks in order of score in that regard. I notice that just very recently First Direct have been placing full page ads in national newspapers trumpeting their topping of a 2018 national poll and showing other banks below them with lower percentage scores. Metro bank are a VERY close second just behind First Direct by a couple of percentage points. Given this fact and also given that Metro are OPENING new branches - while the big banks are CLOSING theirs - makes me wonder: Why MSE are not mentioning Metro at all? Never mentioned, Always just the banking big boys.

eskbanker

There are two entirely separate polls here.

MSE conduct a bi-annual customer service poll and only include banks with over 100 votes in their league table, which is always topped by First Direct (hence MSE saying that FD are rated highly by its customers rather than MSE promoting them itself as such). Metro only received 37 votes so didn't qualify for inclusion, but Monzo got 99 and also didn't feature so would probably feel more hard done by in terms of weight of numbers!

The other poll you refer to is carried out by an independent company (GFK) as a regulatory requirement, but also only publish data where over 100 customers have commented. However, because they surveyed 16,000 people (as opposed to MSE's 5,000 poll voters), more banks appear in their table, 16 versus MSE's 11.

The fact that Metro are opening new branches (from a very low regional base) while genuinely national players are closing them doesn't necessarily warrant their inclusion in a discussion about customer service (where the line has to be drawn somewhere and relative scale seems reasonable) and/or product range (where they will be listed if they have competitive offerings)....

Edit: just to emphasise the point about product range, in which of MSE's 'best bank accounts' categories do you feel Metro's offerings would fit and why?

Top with free switching perks
- HSBC: £200 (£150 + £50 after 1yr)
- First Direct: choice incl £120 Amazon Echo
- NatWest: £125 + 2% cashback
- Barclays: £132+ in the first year
- M&S Bank: up to £185 in vouchers
Top for savers (high interest)
- Nationwide: 5% on £2,500 fixed for 1yr
- Tesco: 3% on £3,000 until Apr 2019
Top for ongoing cashback
- Santander Lite: 1-3% cashback on bills
- NatWest: 2% cashback on bills
Top if you want insurance
- Nationwide: £700 ins for £156/yr
Top if you're overdrawn
- First Direct: £250 0% overdraft

agrinnall

In my view Metro has two plus points: you can walk into a branch and walk out with a functioning debit card, and you get free ATM withdrawals in the Single European Payment Area. Those are the two reasons why I have one, I don't use it for anything else.

eskbanker

agrinnall wrote: »

In my view Metro has two plus points: you can walk into a branch and walk out with a functioning debit card, and you get free ATM withdrawals in the Single European Payment Area. Those are the two reasons why I have one, I don't use it for anything else.

Fair points, the second of which is included at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/#debit:

Metro Bank: With its current account Metro Bank charges no non-sterling transaction fees or cash withdrawal fees when you use its debit card in 34 European countries. Outside Europe, you'll pay a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75%. You can open the account online or in branch.

so they're not completely off MSE's radar, contrary to OP's assertion that "MSE are not mentioning Metro at all"!

londoninvestor

agrinnall wrote: »

In my view Metro has two plus points: you can walk into a branch and walk out with a functioning debit card, and you get free ATM withdrawals in the Single European Payment Area. Those are the two reasons why I have one, I don't use it for anything else.

(At the risk of this turning into "what have the Metronians ever done for us?"...)

The coin machines! You can dump your accumulated change in there without pre-sorting it - that's pretty convenient.

agrinnall

londoninvestor wrote: »

(At the risk of this turning into "what have the Metronians ever done for us?"...)

The coin machines! You can dump your accumulated change in there without pre-sorting it - that's pretty convenient.

You're right, althought that's only a convenience for those who have a branch nearby, the only time I ever went into one was to open the account in the first place.

Jlawson118

I'm not quite keen on Metro Bank's internet banking, although as a bank I think they are great. I once travelled down to Milton Keynes before a European trip to sign up, get my card there and then and made a good day out of it. Although this is quite an inconvenience that they're not as spread out over the country yet.

And you raise a really good point that I never thought of, how they're opening more branches as other big names are closing theirs. It's also convenient that it's open seven days a week. As time goes on and they become bigger across the country, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if they do overtake First Direct on the polls.