New Banks Drive 50% Growth to Challenge High Street Brands

A research report from Hitwise today reveals a rapid rate of growth in visits to disruptor banking sites over the past year. The data, pulled from the Hitwise software, today discloses that in just over a year, website visits to the UK’s top challenger banks has increased by over 50 per cent (51%).

Comparing these banks, such as Monzo and Atom bank, to the top traditional high street banks, including Barclays and NatWest, Hitwise found that website visit growth was comparatively behind challenger banks, increasing in website visits by a mere 1 per cent over the exact same period.

Whilst the big banks will continue to absorb the majority of market share for a while, an imposing threat from smaller entrants is clear, with the Hitwise data revealing challenger bank website visits more than doubled in 2016. Metro, a bank that prides its self on offering customers an individual and personalised experience, saw a massive 118 per cent increase year-on-year since 2015, likely down to satisfying customer demand through simple, targeted and mobile centric products. Other challenger banking brands such as Monzo, who provide personal payment updates, have generated waiting lists of thousands.

In fact, Hitwise found that as a nation we are increasingly researching our financial options, with data revealing a near 20 per cent (19%) increase in searches for credit card applications in January and February YoY, suggesting increasing demand for flexible finances, despite the nation’s increasing debt (Bank of England, 2017).

The data reveals a surge in interest towards challenger banks, whilst at the same time, a slow but sure shift away from high street banks. This shift could be down to consumer’s demand for personalised financial management and, with many challenger banks app based, increased trust to use mobile devices to perform banking actions. Digital technology has been a top priority for retail banks over the past few years, and with new disruptive players bringing technology and customer experience to the forefront, will continue to be a key success factor in 2017.

To download the report, please visit Retail in Banking 2017.