Is a Traditional Bank More Reliable?
There are many people that think that it is better to go with a traditional bank. They look at the names on the high street and think about the fact that they have always seen those banks around and therefore feel that they will be able to rely on them. They then might look at the names of some of the newer banks, perhaps the online ones and feel that they will not be able to rely on them because they are new and no one they know is talking about them. They may feel an immediate distrust because they have not heard of them and it could put them off using them. It is worth thinking about whether this approach is a good idea though. There are lots of different banks and some are older than others and it is good to consider them all when making financial decisions.
Newer and Less Well Known Banks Need to be Good
It is worth bearing in mind that newer banks have to take time build up their reputation. They are aware that people will tend to worry about using them because they have not heard of them and they will want to therefore work hard to be impressive. They will try to have a unique selling point which will make them stand out from others and they will also need to make sure that they keep their customers happy. They will need people to recommend them or to use them again or else they will not be able to succeed and therefore they will need to make sure that they are providing a good service and competitive products so that people will want to use them again.
Traditional Banks Have Brand Loyalty
With a traditional bank they have brand loyalty which means that they will have a lot of customers that have been using them for a long time and will therefore continue to use them. They will not think too much about what they need to do to hang on to customers or find new ones in the same way as a new company. Obviously, they need to be reasonable and stay fairly competitive but people are often prepared to pay more for a bank that they have heard of. Consider whether this is something that you do and whether it is actually something that you should be doing or whether you should be looking to see if a less traditional bank might be better for you to use. It is good to have a think and do a bit of research as well.
High Street Presence
Traditional banks tend to have high street branches. This might be a way that some people like to bank, but these days there are alternatives such as telephone and online banking, which many people will take part in. This means that it could be worth thinking differently to high street banking. There are many advantages of going online, such as being able to bank at any time, rather than having to wait for the bank to be open. Also, a high street premises costs a lot of money in rent and rates and if you use a bank that does not have this, they will not be paying out so much money and therefore this could mean that they have lower costs or offer more interest in savings. It is well worth investigating this, because you do not want to be paying out more than necessary or going without savings interest just because you feel that you need to be with a traditional bank.