In this blog article, we will cover a few points including:
Why customer deposits are a success factor for digital banks in today’s competitive landscape
How key players drastically increased their customer deposits basis over the past two years
The strategies digital banks implemented to attract more customer deposits
In the rapidly evolving financial services landscape, customer deposits have emerged as a key performance indicator (KPI) for digital banks, reflecting their financial health, customer trust, and long-term sustainability. The larger the deposit base, the greater the bank’s ability to fund lending and other revenue-generating activities, making it a vital component of growth and profitability.
In Europe, several digital banks have managed to amass substantial customer deposits over the past few years, reinforcing their positioning as leaders. This blog post aims to delve into the European digital banks with the highest levels of customer deposits and examines the strategies they employ to attract deposits in an increasingly competitive environment.
Fierce competition in digital banking to attract deposits
Over the past five years, many of today's digital banking leaders, who initially focused on niche areas like payments, cards, or current accounts, have rapidly expanded their offerings to more closely compete with traditional banks. This trend accelerated notably in the last two years, fueled by rising interest rates that pushed digital banks to prioritize deposits as a key growth strategy. The heightened focus on gathering more customer deposits has become essential to their long-term sustainability.
In France, Boursorama Banque (now Boursobank) experienced impressive growth, with customer deposits soaring from €9 billion in 2022 to €22.5 billion by 2023. Similarly, Openbank, the digital arm of Spain's Santander, is developing rapidly, driven by its strategic focus on deposits. Ana Botín, Santander’s chairman, proudly claims that Openbank has become the largest digital bank in Europe by deposits.
A claim that highlights the bank's positioning in a competitive market. Whether or not this is definitively the case, such a statement serves as a powerful tool to emphasize Openbank’s growing presence and its ability to attract customer deposits. Deposits are a critical measure of customer trust and provide a low-cost funding source, which is essential for expanding lending and other services. By using this claim, Santander underscores Openbank's strategic importance within its portfolio and aims to reinforce its role as a leading player in the digital banking landscape, competing against both traditional and digital competitors.
Openbank has seen a significant growth of its business, multiplying its profits ninefold and contributing €126 million to Santander’s overall earnings in 2023, compared to €15 million in 2022. This evolution was driven by a strong performance in deposits, mortgages, and consumer loans, supported by rising interest rates. The digital bank also managed to grow its customer base by 29%, with nearly 600,000 new clients, reaching 2.5 million in 2023. Openbank’s competitive deposit offerings, particularly in markets like the Netherlands, Germany, and Portugal, where interest rates exceed 3%, have played a pivotal role in attracting new deposits and customers.
The UK has seen similar successes with digital arms of traditional banks. Chase UK, launched by JPMorgan Chase in 2021, quickly amassed over £15 billion in deposits, demonstrating the growing trust and appeal of digital banking services even within well-established financial institutions. These digital arms of traditional banks naturally benefit from the higher level of consumer confidence, given their backing by major banking institutions. This provides them with a distinct advantage in customer acquisition, particularly when compared to standalone digital banks or fintechs that need to build trust from scratch.
Moreover, the ability to leverage existing infrastructure, resources, and brand recognition allows these digital offshoots to scale rapidly, providing a seamless banking experience to customers who may already be familiar with the parent company. Chase UK, for example, was able to integrate advanced digital features while maintaining the security and stability associated with JPMorgan Chase. This combination of innovation and reliability has made it a strong competitor in the UK's digital banking market, further illustrating how traditional banks can successfully adapt to the evolving fintech landscape while retaining customer loyalty.
However, the same trend can be observed among purely digital banks. Revolut, for instance, increased its deposits from £13 billion in 2022 to £18 billion in 2023, showing a strong capacity to compete with its more traditional peers. This impressive growth demonstrates that digital-native banks are not only gaining ground but also building deep customer relationships, driven by their agility in offering innovative features such as cryptocurrency trading, multi-currency accounts, and seamless international payments.
This growth is not limited to larger players—smaller digital banks like Monzo and Bunq have also seen substantial increases in deposits, highlighting consumer behavior change towards digital-first financial services. Monzo, known for its transparent fee structures and easy-to-use app, and Bunq, focused on sustainability and customer-driven banking, have both carved out strong niches by meeting specific customer needs that traditional banks often overlook. This signals a broader transformation in banking, as more consumers prioritize convenience, transparency, and tailored solutions, leading to a decline in reliance on physical branches and traditional banking models.
As the digital banking sector matures, the competition between purely digital banks and the digital arms of established players is likely to intensify, with customers benefiting from a wider range of choices, innovative financial products, and enhanced user experiences. This evolving landscape highlights the ongoing redefinition of customer expectations in banking, where flexibility, personalization, and tech-driven solutions are key differentiators.
Source: Monzo Snapshot Report 2024. C-Innovation
How Digital Banks Are Winning Deposits:
Seamless UX, personalized offers and referral / cashback programs…
A hallmark of successful digital banks is their user-friendly interface, which allows customers to open accounts and manage deposits with ease. Digital-first banks continue to invest heavily in intuitive mobile applications that enable users to complete tasks—from opening an account to transferring funds— within minutes. The frictionless experience encourages users to deposit their funds and use the bank’s services more frequently. BoursoBank in France, known to have one of the most intuitive designs, boasts to also have the best ratio number of customers per customer service agent, highlighting the bank’s ability to scale efficiently while maintaining customer satisfaction.
Another point digital banks excel at is leveraging data analytics and AI to personalize user experiences. By offering tailored financial products and deposit-related incentives, such as higher interest rates for larger deposit amounts, these banks attract different customer segments, from millennials to high-net-worth individuals. Starling Bank’s personalized business banking features, for example, have helped it capture a significant portion of small business deposits by providing customized tools for budgeting, invoicing, and real-time financial insights, which traditional banks often lack.
Additionally, many digital banks introduced referral programs and cashback incentives to encourage both new sign-ups and increased deposits. These customer acquisition strategies have also proven to be highly effective in boosting the number of account holders and overall deposits. BoursoBank's welcome incentives scheme, for example, rewards users for transferring their existing savings products to the bank or by opening new accounts with the bank, keeping customers engaged and driving long-term loyalty. Revolut has also successfully leveraged cashback offers and tiered rewards for users who meet certain deposit thresholds, creating a competitive advantage by aligning customer goals with bank growth targets.
Lastly, digital banks are increasingly integrating PFM features that encourage financial wellness, such as automated savings tools, rounding up purchases, or creating personalized savings goals. These features not only drive higher deposits but also foster greater customer retention as users feel empowered to manage their financial lives more proactively. As digital banks continue to innovate, their focus on seamless, personalized, and rewarding experiences will likely increase their share of customer deposits in an ever-competitive market.
To offering competitive rates…
To stand out in the competitive digital banking landscape, digital banks understood that they had to offer attractive interest rates on savings accounts, often surpassing those offered by traditional banks. N26, for example, offers interest-bearing savings accounts with competitive rates, which encourages customers to park their money for longer periods. The ability to offer such incentives not only draws in new customers but also helps digital banks secure more stable and long-term deposits.
These deposits are useful to digital banks to fund other parts of their activities such as lending services, plus it reinforces the idea that these players can compete with peers and banks in general on a broader scope than just cards and payments. By extending their offerings beyond basic transactional services, digital banks are establishing themselves as fully-fledged financial institutions capable of addressing a variety of customer needs.
Take Revolut as a prime example: beyond savings products, they successfully rolled out over years a large offering including investment options, insurance products, and even crypto trading services, creating a comprehensive financial ecosystem that encourages customers to keep their funds within the platform, thus increasing deposits and driving customer loyalty. The ability to offer a large range of products and services, from investments to insurance, has proven key in enhancing customer retention and growing deposits, as users prefer the convenience of managing all their financial needs in one place.
Another good example in the UK is Chase, the digital arm of JP Morgan Chase, launched in 2021. In three years, more than 2 millions customers signed up to benefit from savings products while encouraging the bank to broaden their offering with credit cards, now planned for the end of the year. This multifaceted product offering not only boosts deposits but also increases customer stickiness, as customers are again more likely to stay within a platform that meets all of their financial needs.
While digital banks continue to evolve and broaden their offering, they position themselves not just as competitors in the savings account space, but as comprehensive financial partners capable of offering a full suite of banking, investment, and insurance services. This diversification seems to be key when it comes to sustaining long-term growth and ensuring a stable deposit base in an increasingly competitive market.
…And lower fees than the traditional banks
Another major factor contributing to the growth of customer deposits is the elimination of fees commonly associated with traditional banking. Monzo and Starling Bank offer fee-free accounts for basic banking services like withdrawals, money transfers, and account maintenance. This low-cost approach is particularly appealing to younger, cost-conscious users, driving more people to deposit their money in digital banks. Likewise in France, where Fortuneo and BoursoBank thrive by offering low-fee banking products and services, appealing to a new generation of customers increasingly wary of hidden costs. The appeal of fee-free banking is amplified by the growing awareness among consumers about the cumulative impact of banking fees on their savings. Digital banks leverage this awareness to position themselves as customer-centric alternatives, reinforcing the notion that banking should be accessible and affordable.
Transparency in fee structures provided by digital banks contributes to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Unlike traditional banks, which often have complex fee schedules that can confuse customers, digital banks maintain clear and straightforward policies. This transparency extends beyond fees to include how customer data is used and how security measures are implemented, further enhancing consumer confidence.
Last but not least, trust plays a significant role in deposit accumulation. If digital banks invest in building transparency around fees, data protection, security, they also emphasize on deposit protection schemes to reassure customers. Obtaining a European banking license, for example, guarantees deposit protection of up to €100,000 under the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). This assurance helps attract larger deposits, especially from customers seeking a safe haven for their savings. The emphasis on regulatory compliance not only helps mitigate risks for consumers but also serves as a marketing advantage, distinguishing digital banks from some fintech alternatives that may lack the same level of oversight.
The path forward: Leveraging customer deposits for sustainable digital banking success
Customer deposits are at the heart of digital banking strategies, serving as a vital lifeline for funding various services and ensuring sustainable growth in the long term. As digital banking continues to disrupt the traditional banking industry, customer deposits are becoming a crucial battleground. European digital banks like Revolut, N26, Monzo, and Starling have set themselves apart by building customer-friendly ecosystems, offering competitive rates, and leveraging the power of technology to attract deposits. Their strategies - ranging from seamless user experiences to high interest rates and personalized banking solutions - are reshaping how consumers perceive and interact with banking services.
The continuous emphasis on transparency, lower fees, and innovative product offerings has not only resulted in increasing customer trust but also fostered a sense of loyalty that is essential for sustained growth. As these digital banks expand their services beyond basic transactions, they position themselves as comprehensive financial partners, capable of meeting a diverse range of customer needs.
Moreover, given the growing competition and the shift in market conditions, these banks must keep innovating to attract and retain a growing pool of customer deposits. In fact, the recent series of rate cuts announced by the ECB could once again affect digital banks' offerings, and it will be interesting to see how they plan to adapt to these changes, potentially innovating further to enhance their value propositions.
Ultimately, the evolution of digital banking marks a pivotal shift in finance, where customer deposits represent more than just numbers on a balance sheet—they stand as evidence of the trust, engagement, and satisfaction that these institutions successfully cultivate.
At C- innovation we will continue following closely the ins and outs of Digital Banks, so stay tuned!
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