This weekend marks the premiere of Metro Bank, which opened this weekend in Holburn, central London.
With a stated aim to make retail banking a fun experience, the new bank has given a pledge to return banking values to its core. The bank is the first new one to grace High Street in more than 100 years.
Metro Bank plans to have more cashiers employed than any of the existing so-called “big for” High Street banks, whilst at the same time ensuring that its call centre operates out of London. The call centre aims to have each incoming call answered by the second ring consistently.
Metro Bank has also completely overhauled the typical interior of a bank by aiming for a more contemporary aesthetic by modeling the inside of the establishment after a hotel reception area instead of a typical bank lobby.
Additionally, the bank has plans to expand over the next ten years by building a network in excess of 200 new branches across the UK.
US billionaire Vernon Hill, former owner of Commerce Bank, has provided backing for thew enterprise. Hill’s business plan has been to focus on customer service by operating the bank on shop hours: Metro Bank will be open all seven days a week. The weekday hours will be from 8 AM to 8 PM.
Furthermore, there are only four days a year it will be closed: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Many industry experts have expressed scepticism regarding the competitiveness of Metro Bank’s products, however; in particular the bank’s savings account and mortgage products have been viewed with doubt as to how they will stack up against current offerings from existing banks.
Michelle Slade from financial comparison site Moneyfacts.co.uk said that the bank’s offered interest rates are simply not competitive, no matter how many ancillary benefits it offers such as late operating hours.
Slade predicted that Metro Bank will face an uphill struggle in gaining market share if their interest rates are unreasonable, leading to the banking public to discount the bank as a viable option.
Commerce Bank, which Mr Hill founded in the the States in 1973, is currently the 18th largest bank in the US. Commerce Bank operates over 500 branches.