I came across this thought-provoking article about rise of challenger banks being an unintended consequence of the collapse of Lehman brothers and troubles at other banks - the disillusionment this created among customers and the fact some bright former employees had to look for new ways to progress their careers.
It gives a few interesting stats about Revolut and Monzo as well.
Thanks for sharing this article @Justin! I had previously thought of the rise of challenger banks as related to the general ascendancy of tech and changes in the way people expect services to operate now that we have smartphones, etc.
But it’s also true that even as a young person growing up with today’s tech, I still inherited an acceptance of the frustrations and inefficiencies of traditional banking (until I encountered Monzo). So maybe this is the missing link, and it makes a lot of sense to me that the global financial crisis specifically galvanised and freed up a lot of would-be entrepreneurs who were working at these legacy banks and firms to create their own start-ups.
Hi @yen, I agree. While sure that this wasn’t the only factor that drove the creation of challenger banks, it does feel like it may have been a contributor.
@tom, was clearly already entrepreneurial and driven by ideas - and already well connected - but I feel the prevailing environment at the time contributed to the scale of acceptance and success to date.
The willingness that Monzo have shown to be open and transparent, and to hold open two-way conversations with its customers, was also a massive contributor, and would surely not have struck the same chord if it hadn’t been for the prevailing environment.
One of my earliest memories associated with banking was a Natwest manager coming to the house to try and sell a PIP or something to my parents. Even as a kid, it was crystal clear he was not there for us - he was there for the bank.
I think it’s that sort of adversarial relationship that I just don’t want. Such a pointless waste of energy, all in the name of selling you something that would rip you off…