I wouldn’t call Virgin a challenger, more of shrewd opportunist. Acquisition of the ‘prime’ bits of Northern Rock: £15/16bn customer deposits, £14bn lending book, 70+ branches and a million customers for £750m - at a 30% discount to what HM Treasury had to stump up to keep the wheels turning.
Traditional banking, based on balance sheet originated lending, with the added ‘benefit’ of the Virgin Money Lounge. Talk about rolling the proverbial in glitter!
The term ‘challenger bank’ is an interesting one. It seems to be used for any bank (no matter how digital or innovative) that might take market share off of the big 5. So TSB was sometimes referred to as a challenger (to the big lot’s market share).
I think what we’re interested on here is more around here are challengers that disrupt the model, rethink banking, operate for the internet age etc. In this sense they’re a challenger to the way that things have been done (as well as to market share, obvs!)
That’s my take on it from an uninformed, reading the internet, perspective at least…
You do know you could have just use the Yorkshire Bank app if you chose Yorkshire Bank for your B Account? I don’t use the B app because of the flipping** chicken.
I’m not sure what the “designers” were thinking. I’m all in for disrupting the status-quo, but a flipping chicken is not disruptive in any way, it just looks stupid.
It’s probably a lot of old men sat in a room wondering ‘what are the kids into these days’ and it was between this, Tamagotchis, Game Boy Advances, Skoobies or those aliens that were meant to have babies if you put them in the fridge.
Not sure if the chicken is worse than the KBC Ireland app’s start-up. Which is a picture of a mildly-hipsterish young lady doing a surprised gasp whilst looking at her phone.
(Completely still picture except for the hair, which blows about)