Santander shake things up amongst the UK’s savings providers
21 November 2011 |
Recently, Mapa delivered the quarterly update of our savings dashboard, which included the recent excitement caused by Santander’s new fixed rate bond that pays interest upfront. Santander pays interest of £1,000 pound upfront for every £12,000 customers deposit into the account.
The report...keep reading
More UK banking platforms improved and enhanced
20 December 2011 |
Mapa has recently produced the Internet Banking Dashboard: an in depth look at all the major UK banks’ Internet Banking services.
Nationwide recently completely relaunched their Internet Banking platform as part of a wider IT transformation. The new platform has much of the same functionality...keep reading
HSBC matching mortgage deals for existing customers
23 May 2008 |
Changes in the mortgage market have been very topical of late and it is interesting to see that HSBC have launched a “Rate Matcher Calculator” on their public site for existing customers. The tool guarantees to match or better customers existing fixed rate of 4.54% or above after the customer...keep reading
Credit card providers improving customer online experience
29 July 2008 |
It was another busy quarter in the online credit card market with over 50 changes being recorded on the Mapa’s Credit Card Dashboard.
Capital One was the most active provider with over 10 improvements made to their secure site following on from their site relaunch this year.
Of specific...keep reading
Halifax and NatWest / RBS allow customers to update their contact details online
29 September 2008 |
Our September UK Internet Banking Dashboard update highlights moves by providers to enhance online security. Banks are encouraging customers to check their contact details and update when necessary. Halifax and NatWest / Royal Bank of Scotland are using their interstitial login screen to stress...keep reading
Refreshed website, new logo and credit card selector tool introduced by Barclaycard
31 October 2008 |
Our October update of the Mapa online credit card Dashboard uncovered over 30 changes.
Of note Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Barclaycard have all refreshed their public websites. Within the Barclaycard site refresh, they have also introduced a brand new logo (see screenshot to the right).
The new...keep reading
External payment clearance times sharply reduced as more UK banks use Faster Payments on a regular basis
07 January 2009 |
At the end of 2008 the UK online banking market was full of activity. Our December update of the Internet Banking Dashboard monitored over 50 changes, including four website refreshes by First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide.
Although most banks started to roll out the Faster Payment...keep reading
Abbey’s site re-launch sees a number of functions removed from website
02 March 2009 |
Mapa’s first savings dashboard of 2009 has recorded over 50 changes, amongst the amendments uncovered by February’s research was what could be described as a much needed re-launch of the Abbey site. Abbey refreshed website
It’s interesting to see that with the Abbey re-launch, which not only...keep reading
New tools, calculators and possibly even incentives for online mortgage customers
04 March 2009 |
February’s update of Mapa’s Mortgage Dashboard, the first for 2009, has recorded nearly 30 changes and it’s encouraging to see that the majority of these have been positive.
Cheltenham and Gloucester have been incredibly productive over the last quarter, not only have they made some small...keep reading
40% of sites monitored on the Dashboard have recently stopped selling LPI online
13 March 2009 |
For some time now selling loan payment insurance has been profitable business for UK banks, however not without criticism from consumer bodies and regulators. For example in October last year FSA fined Alliance & Leicester £7 million for serious failings in its telephone sales of LPI.
In...keep reading
Prize draws increasingly used to encourage online statements sign up and product applications
24 June 2009 |
Mapa’s Internet Banking Dashboard of June 2009 revealed several prize draws launched by banks. Halifax, NatWest and RBS launched prize draws to urge customers to switch off paper statements and view their statements online within Internet Banking instead.
As a reward for switching off...keep reading
Despite the appalling year for banks generally, 9 banks still make it into the Marketing Society’s top 50 Brands of British origin listing
25 June 2009 |
The multi sector brand parade covering all sectors, and featuring an A to Z spectrum of well known favourites, ascribes each individual brand a value, and it is this that determines the rankings.
Examination of the full list shows a clear divide of banks featured, between those tainted by the...keep reading
Several credit card providers each asking for website feedback
27 July 2009 |
In a first for our dashboard service no fewer than 3 credit card providers were simultaneously requesting feedback via website surveys; Barclaycard, Capital One and Halifax in this case. smile homepage
This quarter’s online competitor intelligence update of Mapa’s credit card dashboard found...keep reading
This quarter sees a continuation in the trends of only offering loans to existing customers or withdrawing from the market entirely
28 August 2009 |
The August update of Mapa’s quarterly Personal Loans Dashboard has recorded 20 changes. Marks and spencer personal loan calculator
In last quarters update we noted that Direct Line and Lombard Direct were no longer accepting loan applications whilst Egg were only accepting applications from...keep reading
Halifax customers can switch banking easily with online form
30 March 2010 |
The March update of Mapa’s Internet Banking Dashboard has recorded over 35 changes to the public and Internet Banking websites of the 15 banks monitored.
These changes include Halifax making it easier for customers to switch their banking Halifax switchingto them. Customers that have a bank...keep reading
Barclays lead mobile innovation in the UK market with Augmented Reality
25 May 2010 |
The May update of Mapa’s UK Mobile Banking and SMS Competitor Intelligence dashboards recorded notable new services as well as removed services in the UK market.
Barclays have been the most active player in the mobile field the last months. Following the removal of SMS Banking highlighted in...keep reading
Live chat feature added to the public web site
23 December 2010 |
The November update of Mapa’s Savings Dashboard has recorded over 30 changes.
This quarter Mapa researchers spotted a live chat feature on the ING direct website. The brand has also introduced an online video guide on Internet Banking security on its public site. The 4 min guide talks about...keep reading
Banks increasingly engaging customers about digital strategy
05 March 2012 |
Mapa has recently completed its quarterly look into Retail Banking Current Account Brochureware and found a number of continuing themes.
Current Accounts remain at the heart of the banking relationship and consequently the fight for customers is as fierce as ever. Halifax and Santander have...keep reading
