Metro Bank, the first entirely new UK High Street bank to launch for more than 100 years, opens its doors for business today. Headed up by CEO Craig Donaldson, ex-MD of retail banking at RBS, it will bring a retail-based branch banking model to the UK, with weekday opening hours of 8am-8pm and Sunday opening. MasterCard will exclusively provide LINK-enabled debit and credit cards to the new business in a five year deal, with Temenos providing the core banking platform and VocaLink the electronic payment processing capabilities

Metro Bank is initially opening two branches in London, the first in Holborn today, although the bank prefers to refer to them as stores highlighting their retail approach to High Street banking. A further 12 are planned in Greater London over the next two years. The bank plans to grow its store network to more than 200 over the next decade. It will be open 7 days a week (8am-8pm Monday to Friday; 8am-6pm Saturday; 11am-4pm Sunday), every day of the year apart from Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

In charge of the technology rollout at new bank will be Aisling Kane, chief operations officer, and formerly director of UK operations at Anglo Irish Bank. Paul Marriott-Clarke, formerly in charge of the southern retail network at HBOS, will be managing director of retail banking at the new operation, while in charge of commercial banking will be Darren Schindler, ex-CEO at Oak Capital Group.

Metro Bank will exclusively use MasterCard card payment products for the next five years as it seeks to expand across the UK. The firm is supporting a range of innovations, including fast issuance technology that means customers will be able to quickly receive fully personalised and ‘ready to go’ MasterCard debit and credit cards, which are LINK-enabled giving customers access to more than 63,000 ATMs. The aim is to make new account opening and switching as fast and as convenient as possible. The service will however follow the same stringent due diligence and credit check processes that other banks follow. VocaLink will be responsible for processing domestic and international payments via its Service Bureau and providing SWIFT connectivity.

The card payment partnership is an important strategic milestone for MasterCard. Metro Bank will become the latest major UK High Street bank to provide customers with Debit MasterCard, a new generation debit card, which is already accepted at over 30 million retail locations and 1.5 million ATMs around the world.

Commenting on the partnership, Craig Donaldson, chief executive officer of Metro Bank, said: “We're delighted that MasterCard has become our payment partner. Its expertise and support has been vital in bringing Metro Bank to market so quickly [within a year of its formation].”

“We believe, and know, that UK consumers are looking for a different and better banking experience,” he added. “Working with MasterCard has enabled us to offer a great range of innovative payment services that will allow us to best serve the banking needs of the consumer and business communities.”

In regard to electronic payment processing, Donaldson added that, "it is reassuring to know we can rely on VocaLink for providing all of our payment needs. With over 40 years’ heritage in electronic payments, VocaLink’s solutions will form the lynchpin of our plans to revolutionise the UK retail banking market."

The extended opening hours and shop-like approach will also be new to traditional branch banking in the UK but many of the ideals behind Metro Bank are quite old fashioned – customer service, face-to-face meeting opportunities, and less focus on visible cost-cutting. We shall now see if UK customers take up the opportunity provided by Metro Bank, and other newcomers like Tesco Bank and Virgin Money, to switch from traditional players. The rates on offer from Metro may not be as good as some other institutions initially, especially as there is no cheaper online operation, but the in-branch customer service looks like it will certainly outshine its competitors. The retail banking market is notoriously static though, with many people remaining with the same bank for their entire lives, so this will be a good test if all the recent complaints about High Street banking in the UK translate into action.

Share Story: