Would You Switch To A Local Bank?

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 169 months ago
Would You Switch To A Local Bank?

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Optimism at One Southampton Row by JudyGR
Moving your banking is a tedious faff, even though your destination depository tends to do all the donkey work for you these days. It seems most stick with what they know or wherever their parents first told them to set up their account at 16 with piggybank, record tokens or credit card wallet thrown in as a piss poor lure. What would it take to lure you these days?

Many of us took our finances almost completely online in the face of closing branches, bank charges and more attractive rates for the self servicing account. Reversing this trend, the promise of a fast track account opening service with branches in key locations operating opening hours that suit the working person, 7 days a week and with customer toilets thrown in, our heads might well be turned. There, in a nutshell, is what Metro Bank is all about. Due to open sizable branches in Holborn and Earls Court in April, FSA approval pending, Metro Bank will squarely target Londoners with a completely novel high street banking experience.

Metro has been a long time coming and has long term plans for 200 branches in London. Its branding might look a bit like a certain supermarket's and its name remind us of one of our daily reads but that's merely made it blend in nicely with the city scenery.

Could you learn to 'love your bank'? We'll wait and watch with (hopes of a higher rate of) interest.

Last Updated 24 February 2010