On average, people stay with their bank for 17 years—which implies that it’s either too much effort to switch, or that they have brand loyalty beyond belief. People are more likely to stay with their bank than they are to stay with their partner.

A study from 2020 estimated that within 5 years 44% of brits will have a digital-only bank. But most of you reading this will already have an account with at least one of the challenger banks, like Monzo, Revolut or Starling. You probably also remember the experience being far better than when you set up your traditional bank account more than a decade ago.

But was the application process actually any better, or are you just wrongly assuming that your traditional bank hasn’t improved since 1995?

This chapter sets out to answer the question: is it actually any easier to open an account with one of the challenger banks, or it is all a brilliantly orchestrated marketing spin.

The industry can be confusing. Promises of “opening an account in minutes” are enticing, and might technically be true, but don’t reflect what we really experience.

In the real world, you’d probably only say your account was active when you could actually use your card. So I set the following parameters:

1. I can use my card in a shop. This includes receiving my PIN.

2. I have access to online banking on my mobile. This includes receiving my card reader (if needed).

And remember, none of the banks knew they were in this race.

As you’d expect, the challenger banks were considerably faster than the more traditional banks. And remember; these are working days, not calendar days.

But when we talk about how easy something is, there’s another metric to consider: effort required. Typically, products feel more intuitive—and easier—the less input they need. So I also logged every time I had to do something.

On average, people stay with their bank for 17 years—which implies that it’s either too much effort to switch, or that they have brand loyalty beyond belief. People are more likely to stay with their bank than they are to stay with their partner.

A study from 2020 estimated that within 5 years 44% of brits will have a digital-only bank. But most of you reading this will already have an account with at least one of the challenger banks, like Monzo, Revolut or Starling. You probably also remember the experience being far better than when you set up your traditional bank account more than a decade ago.

But was the application process actually any better, or are you just wrongly assuming that your traditional bank hasn’t improved since 1995?

This chapter sets out to answer the question: is it actually any easier to open an account with one of the challenger banks, or it is all a brilliantly orchestrated marketing spin.

The industry can be confusing. Promises of “opening an account in minutes” are enticing, and might technically be true, but don’t reflect what we really experience.

In the real world, you’d probably only say your account was active when you could actually use your card. So I set the following parameters:

1. I can use my card in a shop. This includes receiving my PIN.

2. I have access to online banking on my mobile. This includes receiving my card reader (if needed).

And remember, none of the banks knew they were in this race.

As you’d expect, the challenger banks were considerably faster than the more traditional banks. And remember; these are working days, not calendar days.

But when we talk about how easy something is, there’s another metric to consider: effort required. Typically, products feel more intuitive—and easier—the less input they need. So I also logged every time I had to do something.