Would you move your Current Account to Tesco or Virgin Money?

There was an interesting video from Brand Republic (see below) of some consumer vox pops about what they thought of the new banks and whether they would move their current accounts.



Couple of things jumped out at me.

That these brands are not seen as knowing about running a bank, so it feels like a stretch too far.

That Tesco’s is seen as taking over – a brand that is dominating our lives – and we do know that when it comes to money, people don’t like having all their eggs in one basket. We actually like privacy with money so we don’t want one brand knowing too much about us.

The other thing that surprised me was there wasn’t more dissatisfaction with peoples’ existing banks – quite the opposite. And if good mortgage deals are only available to current account holders, especially with interest rate rises, then this is a huge barrier.

Obviously these are the reactions from a few and it’s much, much too early to call. We don’t know what the offer is yet – what will be different or better about the experience with Tesco or Virgin.

But fascinating times – can’t wait to see how it pans out.

Jo Parker
CEO

Watch out - here come the retailers!

As predicted at the beginning on 4 March (Who will eat the banks’ lunch) the retailers will fill the vacuum left by the big banks and building societies.

Did you see Tesco is launching 30 in-store banks by the end of the year under the brand name of Tesco Bank as part of the expansion of its financial services operation?

The supermarket, which has been trialing the concept in Glasgow since 2006, will use the banks to offer insurance, savings and credit card products from Tesco Personal Finance (TPF). Tesco is also planning to launch a current account within the next two years while mortgages are also being considered. Interesting times don’t you think?

Jo Parker
CEO