Following the success of various so-called ‘challenger banks’ which have arisen in the United Kingdom, multinational investment banking giant JP Morgan has decided to dip its toes in the Digital Banking sector with a forthcoming project to be produced under its ‘Chase’ brand.
Recent reports concluded that this could occur as soon as within “the next few months” according to Sky News. This release corroborated an earlier report from the Financial Times, which reported that JPMorgan Chase had been “in talks with London Regulators”.
Such talks reportedly pertained to the launch of a so-called “digital bank” within the United Kingdom by the end of 2020 (according to “a person familiar with the discussions [who] told the Financial Times”).
Business Insider had an alternate take: criticising the move as inconsequential: in light of the fact that it had come “less than a year after Chase shuttered its all digital banking offering”.
JP Morgan Chase describes itself as “a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion… and a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.”. The company claims commercial presence in 100+ markets, in addition to maintaining over 250,000 employees.
The news follows the relative success and media attention attained by fellow UK based entities in the so-called ‘challenger’ sector of digital-only banking. Many of those which have emerged recently are distinguished by their forebears due to their, largely, support for cryptocurrencies…
Revolut, for example, boasts 10+million users – in addition to 350+ million completed transactions to date, and a total value of $40+ billion. In addition to customer-oriented services and products: Revolut has a host of solutions targeted at small to medium (and large) enterprise clients.
The organisation offers applications for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile device operating systems; with additional features including a quick KYC approval process (upon document submission), instant notifications (when incoming and outgoing transactions are made), as well as so-called “up-to-date statements”.
Its accounts are broken up into a triumvirate of offerings, with their own respective pricing models.
The most comprehensive, and expensive, model is the “metal account” -which offered a few additions above the ‘premium’ account, including a metal bank card: priced at £12.99 per month). The “premium” account costs £6.99 per month, and offers the following features:
“Free UK account; Free Euro IBAN account; Spend in over 150 currencies at the interbank exchange rate; Exchange in 30 fiat currencies – no monthly limit; No fee ATM withdrawals up to £400 per month; Overseas medical insurance; Delayed baggage & delayed flight insurance; Global express delivery; Priority customer support; Instant access to 5 cryptocurrencies; Premium card with exclusive designs; Disposable virtual cards; LoungeKey Pass access; Free lounge passes for your and a friend if your flight is delayed by >1 hour; Generous top brand discounts with Perks Plus”
Last, but not least is the ‘Standard’ account, which comes with no charge and (what the company believes to be) enough features to get you introduced and familiar with the platform before you decide to part with any money.
Other challenger banks of note include: Wirex, Monzo, and Starling Bank.
