JPMorgan to Launch U.K.-Based Digital Bank in Early 2021

Need to Know

• JPMorgan will launch its Chase-branded entry into the U.K. consumer banking space in the first quarter of next year.
• The finance giant has already partnered with suppliers including Amazon Web Services and 10x Future Technologies for digital infrastructure.
• JP Morgan already operates as a digital consumer bank in the U.S., where it has 50 million customers.

Analysis

As more individuals gravitate towards online-only banking solutions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. investment bank JPMorgan is expanding its online offerings in the U.K., planning to launch its entry into the U.K. consumer banking space in early 2021, according to reports.

Per a report by Sky News, JPMorgan’s consumer offering in the U.K. will be Chase-branded and will be headed by Clive Adamson, who is a former chair at the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. JPMorgan has apparently already partnered with several vendors, including Amazon Web Services and 10x Future Technologies — which is a London-based banking tech startup — for digital and cloud-based infrastructure. 

While the report has not been confirmed by an official at JPMorgan, there have been talks of JPMorgan Chase entering the digital consumer banking space since early this year. Sky News has speculated that the consumer offering will likely include savings and chequing accounts, as well as a roster of open banking services.

JPMorgan Chase is experienced at offering digital consumer banking: the company already has more than 50 million consumer banking customers in the U.S., where it claims an online account can be set up within five minutes.

If the Sky News report proves true, JPMorgan will enter a competitive market in the U.K. It would be up against Atom Bank, a U.K.-based, app-based lender, and Marcus, the online consumer banking offering from JPMorgan’s Wall Street Competitor, Goldman Sachs, which has been available in the U.K. since 2018. It’s also up against a rocky start: last year, JPMorgan shut down Finn, a youth-focussed, U.S.-based digital bank, after poor customer uptake.

But JPMorgan has been committed to expanding its digital capabilities of late, beyond new product offerings. In December of last year, the bank revealed that it was leveraging machine-learning and AI tech to streamline its expense tracking, saving its in-house accountants and bookkeepers valuable time and optimize processes overall; a year and a half prior, in April 2018, JPMorgan partnered with the Bank of Canada to run blockchain tests that would improve efficiency and streamline a number of processes. Overall, JPMorgan Chase invests $11 billion per year into technology.