Mainstream banking is like mainstream theater in a way -- the demographic is getting older. How to appeal to younger customers? PNB Paribas takes a novel approach with its Hello bank! subsidiary, self-described as "the first 100% digital mobile bank in Europe." Business history is full of interesting firsts. I visited the pop-up in Antwerp, Belgium, on the city's busiest shopping promenade. The signage grabbed me from across the street. No tellers. No platforms. Instead: Co-working space, 3D printing, cheap coffee, smartphone repair, free e-newspapers, and free wi-fi. Interesting that the digital strategy includes physical spaces--after all, we still live in the physical world.  |
| CorporateHistory.net president Marian Calabro in the Renault Twizy at Antwerp's Hello bank! |
Founded in 2013, Hello bank! claims to have 177,000 clients. Putting PNB Paribas's other woes aside, this seems like an effective way to extend a banking brand. Oh, and this particular branch had a Renault Twizy, a one-seat car. You couldn't drive it away, but you could sit in it, as I did.
Posts
