JPMorgan Chase to launch UK digital bank in 2021

Sky News reports JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) is launching a new U.K. digital bank early next year in response to new interest in digital services during the pandemic.

Why should we care?
In launching a new digital brand, JPMC could face obstacles competing with Monzo, Starling, Revolut, and other startup banks. Royal Bank of Scotland’s shutdown of digital bank Bó in May is a cautionary tale, as Bó struggled with product-market fit, a crowded ecosystem, and technical issues. JPMC, however, has the advantages of past experience, and momentum for other bank-backed digital upstarts: Goldman Sachs’ Marcus consumer brand has picked up 500,000 U.K. customers in two years. JPMC can also apply lessons from Finn, its failed U.S. digital brand that was shut down after a year. The upcoming JPMC U.K. challenger bank will reportedly operate under the Chase brand and tap Amazon Web Services for cloud needs, and 10x Future Technologies for its digital infrastructure.