New bank for small businesses has imminent UK launch plans
ANOTHER challenger bank has joined the scene alongside a growing number of upstarts trying to unseat the dominant high street banking institutions in the UK.
Civilised Bank, a new online-only bank aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, is the latest to reveal its plans and expects to open its doors – albeit virtual ones – later this year.
The bank has secured initial stage funding and is in the process of applying for a banking licence and will use a cloud technology which is to be used in the UK for the first time. The banking software which has already been employed by the likes of BNP Paribas and Alpha Bank outside the UK, will allow Civilised Bank to operate without branches.
The bank will initially offer business current accounts, transaction banking, overdrafts, currency exchange, investments, savings and loans to SMEs with plans to expand into retail banking, specifically savings and investments, at a later date.
Civilised Bank chairman Chris Jolly, a former senior executive at Merrill Lynch, Commerzbank and Societe General, said the bank will be at the forefront of 21st century banks “which are fair, transparent and responsible”.