The Barclays and other non-Lloyds/TSB Bank thread

thegeek
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The Royal Bank of Scotland have their own big brand positioning advert - it's got a bit of 'mea culpa' in it about the banking crisis, which I guess affected their reputation more than NatWest.



also this one, perpetuating the myth that it's hard to spend Scottish notes in London:


(The making of video confirms my hunch that the scene with the cabbie was shot in Glasgow)
jonathan
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thegeek wrote:The Royal Bank of Scotland have their own big brand positioning advert - it's got a bit of 'mea culpa' in it about the banking crisis, which I guess affected their reputation more than NatWest.


also this one, perpetuating the myth that it's hard to spend Scottish notes in London:


(The making of video confirms my hunch that the scene with the cabbie was shot in Glasgow)
I expect you're right and this is part of the reason for rebranding to Royal Bank of Scotland. I do know they are trying to distance the bank brands from the RBS brand.

I note the RBS Help twitter page is now "Royal Bank". Maybe they know most people will still refer to the bank as RBS and think there is more chance of people changing to call it the Royal Bank rather than the Royal Bank of Scotland. Wonder if they have any plans to move away from the rbs.co.uk domain name.
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WillPS
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WillPS wrote:
woah wrote:
WillPS wrote:I've noticed they've all recently had their cash machines taken off the RBS network (the same actual machines are now 'Note Machines', awful UX and all). I imagine the same is true of NatWest Scotland.
Didn't seem to be the case for the Meadowhall branch the other day. That has two very old ATMs still in place - older style NCR units but with AT&T branding. I think one still has a green monitor!
Same machines but definitely not running on the RBS network any more. Compare it to a NatWest or Tesco cash machine (which are much snappier and nicer to use).
Went back the other day and found they are in fact still running on the old RBS network, complete with a note attached saying you can't pay in at that branch any more. I wonder if they're preparing for closure?
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Martin Phillp
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Some slight tweaks to the Natwest (and presumably RBS) online banking using a desktop from today. There is now more detail on the front page of the last five transactions. You can roll over the transaction to see who and when it happened and click on a link to report if it's a fraudulent transaction.

On the main statement page, you now have to press the dropdown on each transaction to see all of the information which is rather annoying.
TVF's London Lite.
Critique
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Was in Norwich today and noticed that they had two branches of Virgin Money within a couple of doors of each other for whatever reason, with the second, fairly big branch open on a Sunday. Took a closer look and on the door of the big branch there was a sticker on the door which explained the branch ‘did not carry out financial transactions’, whilst the smaller (and closed) branch had a different sticker on which said that the branch only carried out ‘non-cash transactions’.

What does either branch actually do then?
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WillPS
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Critique wrote: Sun 27 May, 2018 16.36 Was in Norwich today and noticed that they had two branches of Virgin Money within a couple of doors of each other for whatever reason, with the second, fairly big branch open on a Sunday. Took a closer look and on the door of the big branch there was a sticker on the door which explained the branch ‘did not carry out financial transactions’, whilst the smaller (and closed) branch had a different sticker on which said that the branch only carried out ‘non-cash transactions’.

What does either branch actually do then?
It isn't a branch, it's a lounge.
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thegeek
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Halifax have just opened a central London flagship branch along those lines, with safe deposit boxes (very Metro Bank) and a coffee shop that's open to the general public, as the bit around Tottenham Court Road station is clearly a bit of a dead spot for those.
woah
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That looks naff. Who goes into their bank for all that junk - and do they really think they're going to attract people in from Oxford Street with that lot, least of all convert them to Halifax?

I think your average person is with a bank A) because they always been with them, B) because they had the best offer, or C) because they're the nearest. All that branch does is dress up the usual banking services they offer in a way that adds very little, so there's not really much of an incentive.

If they want to differentiate themselves, they need to offer genuinely useful services at all their branches (which are already pretty modern in my experience) and be extremely competitive - not spend a fortune on a concept branch on one of the most expensive retail locations in the UK.

The Top Cat/Flintstones/Wizards of Oz adverts are hopeless too!
Martin Phillp
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Here's an idea, how about a bank has some cashiers, the ability to use ATM's and a helpdesk for any banking enquiries, with some desks or private booths for more complex issues?

No, we'll just prattle on with our Kidzania bank for adults.

As for Metro Bank, the one in Croydon is really popular, even at weekends when other banks are closed. They've got the right idea when it comes to modern banking.
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WillPS
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It's looking likely that CYBG will buy out Virgin Money and license the brand. Could be the end of the Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank names.
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