A new breed of challenger bank

A new breed of branchless, smartphone-based challenger bank is hoping to revolutionise banking. Ben Judge looks at what's on offer.

Back in 1989, Midland Bank launched an innovative new bank called First Direct. It had no physical branches customers could only contact it by phone but the lines were open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And in a challenge to the established banks, which often fell short on customer service, First Direct positioned itself as "better", hoping that customers would "enjoy the experience of banking with us".

First Direct was a big success. By 1995 it was making a profit. Today it has 1.3 million customers. It consistently tops the tables for customer satisfaction. Yet you certainly couldn't claim that it's ushered in a world where everybody enjoys using a bank. The big institutions that dominate the market are seen as remote, impersonal and bureaucratic. And among younger people especially, traditional banks aren't seen as meeting the needs of the modern world. People now live their lives on their smartphones and they want to be able to manage their money on them as well.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.