Show Notes

In the thirteenth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Clare Framrose, Head of Proposition Design and Savings at Atom Bank, about learning from customer feedback, bringing will.i.am on as a strategic advisor, and the impact of new entrants on the savings market.

00:00 Clare’s background

01:38 How to keep a customer focused ethos while growing?

02:59 Choosing will.i.am as a strategic advisor.

06:09 How has Atom gained trust from savers?

08:17 How Atom responds to customer feedback.

13:20 What has contributed to Atom’s growth?

15:50 What are Atom’s plans for the next few years?

18:36 How do new entrants impact on savings marketplaces?

28:19 What changes will we see in the market in the coming years?

30:24 What would Clare do if she were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

To find out more about Atom Bank, go to https://www.atombank.co.uk/

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Show Notes

In the twelfth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Tom Higham, Head of Business Development at Hargreaves Lansdown, about HL’s history, their plans for the future, and why people should choose active savings platforms.

00:00 Why Hargreaves Lansdown got into cash savings

02:48 Tom’s background

06:20 Why people should choose active savings

08:57 How big is Hargreaves Lansdown?

10:37 Why do savings platforms still account for such a small part of the market?

15:30 Will others follow Octopus out of the market?

18:17 What are HL’s plans for the next few years?

20:42 How do new entrants impact on savings marketplaces?

22:30 What changes will we see in the market in the coming years?

26:30 What would Tom do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

To find out more about Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings, go to https://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/active-savings

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Show Notes

In the eleventh episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Julia McColl, Commercial Director of Chetwood Financial, about Chetwood’s history, their plans for the future, and how to increase the number of women leading savings businesses.

00:00 Julia’s background

02:27 Why Chetwood decided to become a bank

04:37 What was the rationale for Chetwood’s dual branding?

06:51 How have the first two years been for Chetwood?

13:04 What impact have new entries into the market had on Chetwood?

18:00 Chetwood’s plans for the future

24:00 What changes will we see in the market in the coming years?

28:00 Why are savings marketplaces slow to take off?

34:49 How will COVID affect savers’ behaviour?

40:00 What can be done to increase the number of women leading savings businesses?

49:09 What would Julia do if she were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

To find out more about Chetwood Financial, go to https://chetwood.co/

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In the tenth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Tim Coates, Chief Customer Officer and Co-founder of Oxbury Bank, about Oxbury’s history, their plans for the future, and using savings to mitigate climate change.

00:00 The origins of Oxbury Bank

03:57 Tim’s background as a farmer and a regulator

09:30 The early feedback from Oxbury’s customers

12:25 Oxbury’s plans to expand their savings accounts

14:02 Oxbury’s other plans for the future, including the Oxbury Forest Saver

22:08 Is there room in the market for more new banks?

22:59 Will the growth in new banks continue?

26:04 What changes will we see in the market in the coming years?

32:09 What would Tim do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

To find out more about Oxbury Bank, go to https://www.oxbury.com/

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Show Notes

In the ninth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to George Nixon, financial journalist with This is Money, about the upcoming budget.

00:00 George’s background

01:35 Will the budget introduce COVID recovery bonds?

06:50 Will Premium Bonds feature in the budget?

10:55 Will the early cashing penalty on Lifetime ISAs be extended?

14:52 Will ISA allowances be raised?

20:15 Is now the right time to try to ‘fix’ the ISA system?

28:04 What other changes can we expect for savers?

31:03 What would George do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

To read some of George’s writing go to Nixon-This-Is-Money.html">https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/debate/columnist-1262290/George-Nixon-This-Is-Money.html

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Show Notes

In the eighth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Steven Marks, the Business Development Director at Newcastle Strategic Solutions, about NSS’s history, their plans for the future, and the impact of COVID on customer digitization.

00:00 The origins of NSS

04:52 The importance of white labelling the service

07:36 Why would a bank choose to use NSS?

10:55 NSS’s plans to move into the SME savings market

13:59 NSS’s other plans for the future

19:08 The impact of COVID on customer digitization

22:59 Will the growth in new banks continue?

27:35 What would Steven do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

30:14 What changes will we see in the market in the coming years?

To find out more about NSS, go to https://www.newcastlesolutions.co.uk/

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Show Notes

In the seventh episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Commercial Director at Aldermore, about Aldermore’s history, the effect of COVID on the savings market, and the imminent changes to NS&I’s rates.

00:00 The origins of Aldermore

04:28 How big can Aldermore grow?

07:26 The importance of acting on customer feedback

10:13 Why Aldermore outsourced the operational management of personal savings

16:07 Aldermore’s plans for the future

22:06 What challenges do new entrants into the savings market pose?

25:50 What changes are likely in the market over the next few years?

30:50 What impact will the cuts to the NS&I rate have?

35:01 What would Ewan do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day? 

To find out more about Aldermore, go to https://www.aldermore.co.uk/

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Show Notes

In the sixth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Keith Barber, Director of Business Development at the Family Building Society, about Family’s lead products, the challenges of working remotely and the strategies needed when you don’t have a branch network.

00:00 The origins of the Family Building Society

03:25 Some stats on the size of the Society.

06:01 The thinking behind the Windfall Bond

11:20 How the Market Tracker Saver works

16:26 Is appearing in Best Buy tables a strategy for Family?

18:30 What challenges do new entrants into the savings market pose?

21:39 What new products or innovations are Family working on?

23:19 The challenges of remote working.

25:05 What would Keith do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

30:04 What changes are likely in the market over the next few years?

To find out more about the Family Building Society, go to https://familybuildingsociety.co.uk/

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Show Notes

In the fifth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Cem Eyi, Co-Founder of KidStart and the Beanstalk app, about the children’s savings market; cash funds versus savings accounts; and the younger generation’s approach to saving or investing.

00:30 Cem’s background and the origins of Beanstalk

01:12 Why focus on children’s savings and how Beanstalk works?

03:04 Why is there no requirement for regular deposits?

04:09 Cash funds versus a cash savings account

05:55 How has COVID impacted Beanstalk’s launch?

08:39 How do older relatives cope with the app?

12:30 Will more child-focused savings apps enter the market?

14:22 Will banks get involved in this area?

15:22 What are the future plans for Beanstalk?

16:18 The choice between investing and cash savings.

18:43 What would Cem do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

23:04 What changes are likely in the market over the next few years?

To find out more about Beanstalk, go to http://www.beanstalkapp.co.uk

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Show Notes

In the fourth episode of the Savings Guru Podcast, James talks to Colin Field, CEO of Saffron Building Society, about the impacts of Covid-19 on the mutual sector, the importance of children’s savings accounts, and why Saffron are launching an enviro-saver option.

00:30 The history of the Saffron Building Society

01:12 How important is the local relationship right now?

02:10 The increasing need for digitsation during the Covid-19 crisis.

06:10 Why Saffron has a full-time staff member looking after vulnerable customers.

07:40 Why are savers still important to Saffron?

10:55 The importance of children’s savings accounts.

12:30 What prompted Saffron to launch an enviro-saver account?

15:30 What other plans does Saffron have for savings?

17:25 How has Covid-19 affected operations within Saffron branches?

22:45 What would Colin do if he were Chancellor of the Exchequer for a day?

26:20 What changes are likely in the market over the next few years?

To find out more about Saffron Building Society, go to https://www.saffronbs.co.uk/

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