Thisbank: new UK bank promises 'human-centric' service - though it won't be opening branches
Real people, real help — though this new UK bank has no physical branches 💬
- New UK bank, Thisbank, launches with a people-first, branchless model
- It offers easy access savings at 3.76% and fixed-term accounts up to 3.99%.
- The bank is guaranteeing loyal customers will never get worse rates than newcomers
- It promises ‘human customer service, saying its call centre staff are ‘never more than one selection away’
- Thisbank is backed by UK and US investors, led by banking veteran Chris Waring
A new UK bank is shaking up the market by putting people, rather than technology or algorithms, at the centre of its offer, even though it has no plans to open a single physical branch.
Thisbank, formerly the UK arm of Jamaica National Group (JN Group), was sold in 2024 and recently rebranded under new ownership.
It launches with competitive, though not market-topping, interest rates: 3.76% on easy access savings and 3.99% on one- to five-year fixed-term accounts.
While these rates may lag behind top offers from names like Chase and Cahoot, the bank is banking on a different kind of appeal: fairness and human interaction.
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
A key focus is tackling the “loyalty penalty,” a common gripe where long-standing customers often receive worse rates than newcomers.
At Thisbank, customers are guaranteed they will never be offered less than a new applicant, aiming to reward loyalty rather than punish it.
Despite a branchless model, the bank promises a personal touch. Every customer is “never more than one selection away from a human being at our call centre,” according to chief executive Chris Waring.
His vision is to replicate the in-branch experience of the past — warm, accessible, and human — through call centre staff trained to provide rapid, personalised support.
“Our people-first approach means replicating the human-to-human connection you used to receive in your local banking branch to today’s times,” Waring says. “We focus our people on ensuring our customer journey is as polished, easy and simple to use as possible.”
Thisbank also offers lending products and is backed by a combination of UK and US investors.
Majority-owned by Step One Money, with additional support from US-based fund SPF, the bank is led by Waring, a banking and private equity veteran whose experience includes launching 118 118 Money and selling a consumer credit company to Tandem Bank.
In under a year, Waring says the bank has grown into a profitable, fast-expanding operation, all while sticking to the principle that banking should be about people, not just numbers.