,
9 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
In “product innovations which I wouldn’t have expected but which make lots of sense”; Starbucks has a debit card in the US (through Chase).
That’s presumably taking advantage of Starbucks being the habitual use location (and super distribution channel) that bank branches used to be.
Back in the day, banks got at least two tries to talk to a customer a month, like clockwork (payday).
Back in the day, banks got at least two tries to talk to a customer a month, like clockwork (payday).
There are *relatively* fewer customers these days who do that, and most of them are happy with their current bank account.
I bet the strategy here isn’t finding habitually unbanked people; it’s about grabbing share with very “bankable” young’uns who are a bit bank-shy.
I bet the strategy here isn’t finding habitually unbanked people; it’s about grabbing share with very “bankable” young’uns who are a bit bank-shy.
And then after Chase has a card in your pocket you will, because you are young and drink Starbucks, install the Chase Mobile app, which is going to (they hope) eventually do the sales job that a branch banker would do over the years.
Oh this is one of the most important things to understand about retail banking:
A bank branch is a sales office, staffed primarily by commissioned sales reps. Cash management and account servicing is offered just to keep people coming in to talk to the sales reps.
A bank branch is a sales office, staffed primarily by commissioned sales reps. Cash management and account servicing is offered just to keep people coming in to talk to the sales reps.
The retail establishment most similar to a bank branch is a cell phone store. Their entire job is, in a conversation you have once every few years, get you onboarded to a product with badonkadonk LTVs.
The badonkadonk nature of this is why there are cell phone shops everywhere.
The badonkadonk nature of this is why there are cell phone shops everywhere.
(Interestingly, many Japanese banks still have material back office operations at many of their branches. Large US and, to my understanding, UK banks have almost entirely eliminated this practice; retail back office is located either at HQ or at one of a few concentrated sites.)
“Back office” refers to the parts of a financial institution which are not customer facing (accounting, recordkeeping, compliance, etc); “front office” is the part which is customer facing (sales and account servicing).
I have been reliably informed that when I was told at age ~8 that badonkadonk was a slang word meaning “large” that I may have failed to understand an important bit of context. Mea maxima culpa.
