Hold my hand and bank with me

Do you trust your bank?

They are custodians of your savings and assets, so you’ve put your faith in their ability to safeguard your financial future. Capitalism, remember? The economic money cycle allows for individuals to accumulate surplus as a representation of their ability to exchange goods. So banks keep that surplus safe and we trust them for it.

Is this really trust? More like a functional relationship to me, one that has existed as long as money has, based on convenience and utility. Real, deep, all-encompasing trust is predicated on much stronger foundations.

I started flirting with these ideas about three years ago. I did some research and a lot of thinking about banks and their relationship with customers. How it could be reimagined through value-add features. How personal financial management features on top of everyday banking could help build a strong trustful relationship that would replace spam emails and all-size-fits-one campaigns.

The principles were quite simple and remain true, unfortunately, today. Banking is boring, cold, utilitarian. Banks need to give their customers something back. It’s high time banks reimagine and rebalance the relationship with their customers, a new bond predicated on a exchange of value, beyond utilitarian custody of deposits as an enabler for lending. We don’t mean to reinvent banking itself. We just want to make it relevant, profoundly meaningful in everyday life.

Trust. How?

Well, let’s examine how trust works in human relations. People trust each other, but it typically takes a bit of time, never immediate and never assured. You might trust a complete stranger only if a considerable number of people you know also trust him. Your common connections serve as a proxy for trust, but you alone have no basis for it. The best (if not only) way to really trust someone is to get to know them, and a great way to do this is by taking a journey together.

Yes. Banks must take their customers on a journey. Not a Paris-Constantinople. A journey that will take them from their current situation into a brighter future, where they will be free of financial stress and be able to fulfill their life goals. This is a journey powered by data, enhanced by transparency, rewarded by loyalty. It might take years, and there are a many stops along the way but, in the end, they’ll discover each other.

Station 1. Everyday banking.

First stop, the onramp for most of us. Here’s where our everyday banking takes place. We get paid, we pay for things, we move money around. We use plastic, NFC, finger, face. We spend, overspend, borrow, pay ridiculous interest, get paid ridiculous interest. We ebb and flow from overdraft. We traverse the zero line in a regular reverse sawtooth waveform, amplitude modulated by our salaries and lavish (or not) lifestyles, offset on y-axis by existing savings, if any. For most, this is the only waveform, and no escaping.

A bank is friendly, but not our friend. A taxi driver. A doorman. An elevator assistant. You smile, it smiles back. We understand how it works. We understand the rules. But we can’t yet take advantage.

Station 2. Awareness.

And then it begins. You see something, you feel something. Your bank will sound different, a gentler tone, brighter eyes. It will tell you things you didn’t know, candidly, selflessly, unbiased. You’re spending more than you can afford. Your groceries spend is higher than the last few months. You might not have enough money to pay your Vodafone bill. Your gym fees are above the Hampstead average and, do you even still use that Spotify subscription? You could pay for your next February holidays if you cut your Entertainment spend in half this year. You like coffee, there’s a good deal in Monmouth using your credit card. That credit card is not the best for you, try this other one.

You’re coming out of the tunnel, into a high bridge crossing a valley in the mountains. There’s a sense of adventure. A tingling in the spine. Where are we off to next?

Station 3. Financial responsibility.

Everybody deserves a financial advisor. A bank will tell you where you are, what you do, and now will show you how to move forward. How to improve on those financial habits, undiscovered behaviors you’re not aware of, facts otherwise hidden in the data.

Let’s start setting targets. Cut here, trim there. Move a little into savings. Go on, it’s safe, trust me. I’ll even automate it, round up pennies, you won’t even notice. Small sacrifices pay off. Contributions compound over time. A training plan to make you financially fit and healthy. Pump up the jam.

Your demeanor has changed. You lean in closely to listen. I’ll follow you. Lead the way.

Station 4. Exploration and expansion.

What is this place? Have I ever been this far from home? I’m glad I’m with you.

There’s no excuse anymore. It’s the democratization of wealth. Barriers placed so low that anyone can invest, even small sums, into managed investment products according to their preferred location in the risk/reward curve. Not rocket science anymore. Not closed doors. Transparent, simple, clicks away. Actually, here’s where robo is good, but a human, a friend, is always better to lead you through the last mile, to the close.

What? Of course you’re entitled. Premium products should not be exclusive to high rolling customers of elite hedge funds. It’s a win win. Open the doors. We‘re coming baby.

Station 5. Financial freedom

You’re there. You’ve been led, handheld. Unless you have undiscovered destructive instincts or biblical bad luck, or cave into crypto FOMO, as long as you follow a few basic principles in managing your assets, balancing risk and reward, investing what you don’t need, you should accelerate in your path towards financial freedom supported by modern financial instruments that will take you off monetary predicaments. Freedom from financial pressures. Time back with your family, with your hobbies, with your creative side. No guarantees. But you cannot stay still. The path is clear, the water inviting.

This is the journey of discovery, growth and realization that banks must take every customer through. From everyday banking, through personalized financial management, to wealth. At each step you will both trust each other more, listen to what you have to say, learn. Believe. It’s what banks should be. The redistribution of insight derived from data that is truly yours, from which you’re entitled to get something back.

It’s starts today, it goes on for years. Reward is at the end. Go on now.