Virgin’s foray into High Street finance has been confirmed for a 2011 start date, yet the new bank has expressed that it will not be offering the best available interest rates on its products such as savings accounts; instead, Virgin will be focusing on a more complete package of customer service and value overall.
Following the example of Metro Bank, another new High Street establishment that opened recently this week, Virgin is considering extending its opening hours to match, enabling consumers to conduct their banking business at their own convenience.
Metro has made promises concerning its opening hours by staying open seven days out of the week: 12 hours a day on weekdays, from 8 AM to 8 PM, closing only two hours earlier on Saturdays and 4 hours earlier on Sundays. Despite these extended opening hours, many of its financial products were not received with much enthusiasm due to low interest rates.
Industry experts were hoping that Virgin would usher in a new era of attractive rates, but there have been no indications that this will be the case.
While there is no official launch date for Virgin Bank, the new bank would like to be prepared to open its doors this coming spring. As Virgin has still not purchased any real estate yet, where those doors will be located is still not known.
Virgin’s intent is to construct a network of 70 branches over the next half a decade, however.
A spokesman for Virgin commented on the new bank’s plans, stating that they were waiting until they have the ability to launch a full and complete package of branches, current accounts, and savings accounts all at once, as they feel having all financial products to offer at once is a necessity.
Virgin’s focus will be on improving customer service relations, much like Metro Bank. Virgin’s spokesperson added that they believe that Metro had chosen a correct stance in regards to customer relations, indicating that because the Virgin brand is so well known and trusted in the UK that they will be successful.