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Reassuringly sensible comments. We can't expect institutions to catch up on using contemporary channels and techniques, if they don't get some latitude for experimentation. Snapchat is probably a bit of an outlier for the Bank of England but the budget here is relatively trivial. We can't criticize the financial sector for being detached from the mainstream and then knock them for exploring ways to get closer.

More interestingly, I've noticed the bank will be livestreaming the financial stability report announcements on stress testing via Youtube. Which, while not exactly bleeding edge, is to be applauded.

I was wondering if this was a bit harsh on NatWest. Then I saw the list of Related Stories tagged below.

Agree with Peter. Consumers have no interest in 'Open Banking' why should they? Nor do they have any interest in PSD2, nor even fintech, heaven forbid.

They are only interested by new services that solve real problems, maybe save them money, and do so with high levels of utility and ease of use.

Also, surely the question on sharing personal data is the wrong way round. No-one agrees to share personal data without being offered some kind of fair value exchange for it. Show the consumer a compelling value proposition and they will do it in the blink of an eye. The problem is finding the value prop...

I'm expecting this story to run...

Hi Mike

The stage was pretty full and noisy so it was hard to establish the details amid all the whooping and jumping - but the MasterCard guys published some details on their blog at http://www.newsroom.mastercard.com

The commerce app they built allowed small merchants to exploit product placement in TV shows to spontaneously offer the same products with rapid home delivery via TV, using Apple TV I believe.

Pertinent they didn't call it The Bitcoin Alliance.

Hi Liz

As you say its been quite a journey. Thank you for all the blood, sweat and tears spent in the Finextra cause over the years.

Don't cry. No-one ever leaves Finextra. They just change their profile.

All the best for the next big adventure.

Steve

The surprising part of this is the involvement of WPP. The ad networks are investing considerably in adtech, platforms, search and social media. I know these areas blur considerably but investing in a bank seems a big step beyond WPP's core business.

Then again, I can recall Saatchi & Saatchi making a bid for Midland Bank back in the day...

This could be a really smart move. Adaptive Path have a fantastic reputation in the world of service design. If they are allowed to effect change (and don't get lost or side-lined inside a much bigger, slower moving organization), then this could have a transformative effect on service delivery.

Capital One should be applauded. Much more innovative, than yet another accelerator fund, which seems to be the me-too tactic to fuel innovation at the moment.

Brett

For me the 'tell' is they feel the need to announce that a new web site coming, not simply soft launch it as and when.

I'm sure TSB are more than competent enough to have a roadmap and functional backlog they will be working through. And I'm sure someone in the bank will regard online as strategic. How close they are to actually delivering the site I don't know.

Its more the mindset that this announcement 'tell' betrays. If clients think their site is worth announcing to the planet with a pre-launch video, etc, they are possibly looking at it more from their own perspective, than their customer's viewpoint.

In my experience customers are fairly unforgiving in taking up a 'so what' attitude. Unless a new site materially improves something for them.

One of the clients we learned a lot from in terms of their approach is a very large online retailer. While we built mobile apps for them, as a result we also got visibility of the sheer volume of site testing and refinements they were constantly making (continuously, daily, hourly) to refine customer journeys in pursuit of fractional improvements in the end outcomes that drove revenue. Their relentless mono focus and rigour were amazing. And no-one ever knew. No announcements were ever made.

The point is, they understood that their development or UX skills weren't the story; the customer's online experience was the only story that mattered. And the thing that mattered most was how many visitors moved through the desired steps to increase performance (revenue in their case).

I've seen this mindset among retailers and tech firms, not so much among banks. Can't speak for the new wave of startups / challengers.