Banking

How banking has changed in the past 20 years in your favour!

In your lifetime, you will use plenty of banking products that were previously not available to the ordinary person. Most of us have credit cards, loans, investments and insurances. This has made banking a much more competitive industry, and you have the right to expect great service for your custom.

The face of banking in the UK has changed immeasurably in the past two decades. While we were busy living our lives, the financial services industry consolidated almost overnight, with most small banks being swallowed up by large ones- some fifteen very large global companies take care of the vast majority of daily banking.

But at the same time, lots of exciting new players have appeared. Small banks and lenders provide services for people who otherwise would never have access to credit; or even sometimes a bank account. New technology (cash machines, CHAPS clearance, credit scoring) mean we can get to our money faster- and do more with it.

More of us are investing than ever before- and with government support (remember PEPs and TESSAs, or today’s ISAs) plenty of us are making money out of our savings- even if it’s only a few pennies for a few days.

Banking is now a highly competitive industry whereas twenty years ago, you were grateful that your bank manager even gave you the time of day. Since we are now sophisticated financial consumers, aware of our banking options, and likely to demand several products in our lifetimes (not just a bank account and a mortgage), we owe it to ourselves to force our bank managers to justify their existence. Keep your bank manager on his toes!