Neo banks have been growing in popularity across the world, steadily gaining customers from Hong Kong to San Francisco. The UK has seen major disruption within fintech too, with a raft of local and European banks entering the market. Players such as Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank, are amongst the fintechs that have been attracting a greater number of customers in the UK, eating away at incumbent market share.

With the backing of a reputable brand name such as JPMorgan, the bank seems to be primed for success.

Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was set to launch a digital retail bank for its UK customers. Just this morning the bank announced the launch of Chase, a new digital retail bank in the UK, as part of what is planned to be a global expansion. What makes this move significant is that this is the first time that the US banking giant is stepping out of its home turf in its 222 year history! Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO, International Consumer at JPMorgan Chase & Co is leading the launch of this new offering. There is currently a waiting list to join, but once customers are accepted, they have access to a free current account, 1% cashback on spending, a numberless credit card for added security and much more. In the US, Chase currently has over 56 million digital customers and the launch of a digital bank in the UK will gradually allow Chase to increase its footprint in Europe. With the backing of a reputable brand name such as JPMorgan, the bank seems to be primed for success. Additionally, the UK market, where both customers and regulators are increasingly open to innovative products, also counts as a factor in Chase’s favour.

The addition of Chase within retail banking is significant as this marks the first time that JPMorgan has unveiled a retail banking product outside of North America. JPMorgan follows in the footsteps of Goldman Sachs, which launched its own digital bank, Marcus in 2018. Alongside challenging Neo Banks in the UK, the launch of Chase will also add pressure onto traditional British players such as Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC who have already been struggling due to lack of innovation.   

US banking giants such as JPMorgan are already miles ahead of their UK counterparts with their digital offerings.  We look forward to seeing how Chase will fare in the UK market and whether it will oust the current neobanks, such as Revolut to become a market leader.