first direct
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| first direct plc | |
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| Type | Subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Leeds, England, UK |
| Industry | Banking Insurance |
| Products | Credit card, Loans, Savings, Mortgages |
| Website | www.firstdirect.com |
first direct is a telephone and internet based commercial bank in the United Kingdom, a division of HSBC Bank plc. first direct has headquarters in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and has over 1.2 million customers[1].
According to MORI and NOP research, first direct has been the most recommended bank in the UK for the past 13 years.
first direct is based at two call centres in Stourton (Leeds) and Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Hamilton is the larger of the two call centres however the Leeds call centre handles risk assessment and some processing roles.
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[edit] History
first direct was formed on October 1, 1989 by the Midland Bank, one of the "Big 4" banks in the UK. The call centre has famously never closed since this date. In 1992, it became a part of HSBC following the acquisition of Midland Bank.
first direct took its first call on 12.01am on 1 October 1989 - more than 1000 calls were taken within the first 24 hours. By May 1991 the bank had 100,000 customers on its books and by March 1993 it had 250,000, achieving break even first in December 1994.
In April 1995 the bank gained its 500,000th customer and began trialling Internet Banking in July 1997, launching the service fully in 1998.
In May 1999 the bank launched text message (SMS) banking, a service through which the bank will alert customers by SMS if the balance on their current account goes below a certain amount, and if set, will send weekly mini-statements also by SMS.
In July 2001 the bank's Offset Mortgage was launched.
In January 2004 the bank launched first directory, a service whereby additional services were added to current accounts such as free text message banking, annual travel insurance and mobile phone insurance for a fixed monthly charge. In April 2004 the bank launched Internet Banking Plus, a service whereby account information was taken by third party Internet Banking from the bank's other accounts with different banks and the information was unified under first direct's Internet Banking Plus service.
The bank has also recently launched a service whereby customers can access accounts via their mobile phone in partnership with Monilink. A similar trial some years previously using WAP technology did not prove sufficiently popular.
[edit] Target customers
first direct market their services at busy professionals, describing their customer base as 'money rich' and 'time poor'. first direct's rates are generally uncompetitive in a lot of areas; however, they have high rates of customer retention because of their service.
As a result of aiming for a higher class of customer, first direct tend to offer services straight off the bat which are not generally offered at first by other banks - for instance, each new 1st Account customer is offered a £100 cheque guarantee card and £500 overdraft immediately upon joining, both of which would on the whole quite difficult to obtain elsewhere.
[edit] Future
Under new Chief Executive Chris Pilling (former Marketing and Customer Service Director of ASDA), the bank aim to launch new services including a premium current account and newer savings accounts. The bank is also in the process of redesigning their credit/debit card layout.
In September 2007 a comprehensive overhaul of the existing current accounts was announced. From 1 November 2007 the new 1st Account will replace all existing current accounts. The new account, unlike the old ones, pays no interest for credit balances, but offers a range of new facilities not available on the old accounts. These include the new linked Everyday e-Saver and Regular Saver accounts, both offering competitive rates of interest. A monthly automated sweep facility is also available, along with free text message banking and an interest-free £250 overdraft facility.
[edit] Customer charging
Shelving earlier plans to introduce across-the-board charging for current accounts and offering rewards for customer loyalty, the bank announced plans in November 2006 to introduce a £10 per month charge to customers who credit less than £1500 per month to their current accounts or maintain an average balance of less than £1500 per month. These plans have sparked outrage amongst UK customers who have up until now have received free banking for current accounts in credit. The charge does not apply if a customer holds any other first direct product (including savings accounts, credit cards, mortgage, home or car insurance) in addition to a current account. [2]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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