According to the FT, Tesco is hoping to capitalise on consumers’ disenchantment with traditional banks by opening its own banks in several of its supermarkets.
They’re looking to open 30 branches of what will probably be a Tesco branded bank by the end of the year, with 3 branches opening in Brislington, Blackpool and Coventry by the end of April.
The banks will offer all of the products currently available through Tesco Personal Finance, such as credit cards, insurance, loans and savings accounts, along with access to their insurance comparison service, Tesco Compare. It is thought that they’ll be able to offer current accounts within about 2 years time.
It was fairly inevitable that Tesco would enter this market at some point – and they may have moved more quickly with their plans given the current sentiment towards banks and financial service. Consumers have lost most of their faith in bankers, and now trust the likes of supermarkets more. And with their access to millions of customers, it would seem like a natural extension to their ever expanding range of products and services.
I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this. Would you bank with Tesco? They already take about £1 in every £8 spent in shops in the UK, if I remember rightly (having checked, this is a stat from 2005, not sure whether it’s still true), and with their widespread clubcard use, they have vast amounts of very useful data on their customers. How happy would you be knowing they now have access to your financial data? Does this worry you, or do you not care as long as they’re able to offer you a great deal on whatever you want to buy?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
photo credit: markhillary