Capture and link customers. Above all link them. It is the purpose of banking in times when the search for remuneration by savers encourages financial infidelity. Now that not only war has been ruled out, but not even the battle for deposits between the country’s large entities, there are those who look towards the accounts with the aspiration of finding some remuneration without taking risks and that is where things begin to move.
Sabadell Bank has just reformulated its previous version of the online account – launched in 2022 – with the intention of attracting new customers and making those customers adopt the entity as their day-to-day bank in the long run. “Becoming full clients of Sabadell”, as its CEO defined it, César González Bueno, in the presentation of the product. Will its launch mean the start of some competition between the main entities? “More competition is always good. Other banks will each have to decide what they do at any given time in this market, but it is not something that worries us,” said González Bueno.
For now, the large banks are not passing on the increase in the price of money to their clients, but more and more voices are warning of the growing pressure on the entities. They point to countries like United Kingdomwhere he transfugism of savers has raised the remuneration to levels even above 5% in some remunerated accounts.
In Spain that level is still far away, but in the coming months things could change. The new online account of the Catalan bank includes a remuneration of 2% up to 20,000 euros and without conditions or commissions for new users. In addition, it does not require payroll, it returns 3% for electricity and gas bills and credit and debit cards will have no cost. According to the sources consulted, Sabadell’s previous offer was better for attracting new users, while the new strategy is more appropriate for attracting and linking them in the longer term. Exactly what the bank is after.
Hector GrisiCEO of Santander, clarified in the presentation of the group’s results that they do not now have products to compete with accounts, but that their teams closely follow the movements that occur in the market and analyze “how each bank plays.”