Metro Bank: a refreshing approach to banking

Metro Bank continues it rollout in the UK and their latest branch has just opened next door, here in Chiswick.

I met today with Dean Murphy, the branch manager, and I was impressed by his refreshing approach to doing business with the SME. An experienced banker with 20 years of commercial banking under his belt, he showed me around the new branch which has no tellers, a free coin counting machine (available to non-clients as well) and safe deposit boxes which most of the other high street branches have gotten rid of. With staff rewards linked to customer service levels and not sales, the emphasis has clearly been put on pleasing clients, something that the other banks seem to have forgotten.

On top of all the services you can expect from a bank today (like 24/365 online and telephone banking), they provide free banking for ever to small businesses and opening hours unheard of in the UK: 7 days a week including from 8am to 8pm on weekdays. Plus free parking. They also promise that the whole account opening will take less than 15 minutes for a personal account or an hour for a business account... including the instant printing of a cheque book and a debit card.

It's about time someone came to disrupt the complacent high street banks. Metro is clearly showing that there is no need to be a premier customer to feel like they want your business! I wish them good luck -- even though from the numbers they have disclosed I can see that they will be OK.