In 2021, Metro Bank launched its first Magic Makers programme and chose three start-up companies, Surfly, Solidatus and Poly AI, whose innovative solutions ultimately delivered a double whammy both by transforming the Metro Bank customer experience and the Bank’s operational efficiency.

The transformative technologies developed by the programme included co-browsing technology designed to enhance customer resolution, a digital blueprint that enables essential data insights and transparency, plus a super human voice assistant able to respond to complex requests and natural conversation from customers. All three solutions were tested so successfully at the Bank that they have been formally adopted and are currently being implemented.

”Working with start-ups enabled us to not only capitalise on the latest technological innovations, but also roll out the test and implementation at pace. Being so agile has been key to delivering positive change for our customers,” explained Kat Robinson, Customer Experience Director of Metro Bank. “We are now appealing both internally and externally for ideas and solutions that will once again transform our customer experience and we are really excited to see what is out there.”

As with last year, L Marks will scout and identify businesses to apply for a unique opportunity to take their innovative ideas to the next level. Through the ten week immersive Magic Makers programme, successful start-ups will have access to first-class mentorship from Metro Bank senior stakeholders, gaining insights from leading experts in the sector and the opportunity to test and validate their solutions.

The programme is designed to discover innovative solutions which can support Metro Bank in providing exceptional support to its domestic and commercial customers.

This year, Metro Bank ran a two-day immersive opportunity-spotting workshop - engaging customers and colleagues in highlighting and selecting key priorities and categories to find innovative solutions from within. The four selected categories are:

. Making life easier for our customers
We want to continue to elevate our extraordinary customer experience with service that helps our customers manage their money seamlessly – in-store, online and between the two. We want to make it easy to bank with us by taking away unnecessary passwords and paperwork to do day to day banking.

. Becoming the UK’s best community bank
It’s our mission to be the UK’s best community bank, and that means giving back to our communities and helping small businesses succeed – through how we connect our customers to each other and offering an additional helping hand to customers that really need it.

. Optimising our systems and data
We need to optimise the way we capture and analyse internal and external data so that we can react quickly and “join the dots” on customer and colleague feedback. We’re also looking for new opportunities to automate our processes behind-the-scenes.

. Sustainable and responsible banking
Being a socially responsible, sustainable and ethical organisation matters to us. We’re looking for opportunities to become more sustainable, both in the way we work and the way we serve our customers.

They are now on the search for start-ups and scale-ups who can bring to life one of these categories, or has a solution they think Metro Bank should be thinking about in the future, as part of the wildcard category.

Daniel Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of L Marks, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Metro Bank for a second year. Building on the success of last year’s Magic Makers programme, we will discover and connect Metro Bank with more of the world's most exciting and innovative start-ups and scale-ups.

“Innovation is at the heart of what Metro Bank does and their commitment to building a different kind of high street bank has been proven through their engagement with start-ups in Magic Makers and the deployment of their innovative solutions. We look forward to seeing the new technologies that this year’s programme will bring to Metro Bank and the banking sector.”

Applications will be closing on the 19th June so start your application today.