Walk into almost any bank today and look at its premium current account.The benefits are remarkably familiar. Airport lounge access. Concierge services. Travel insurance. Cashback. A metal payment card.
There's nothing wrong with any of those features. Many customers value them. The problem is that they're no longer particularly distinctive.
Premium banking has spent years refining the same formula, to the point where many propositions now look and feel remarkably similar.
That raises an obvious question.
If every bank offers broadly the same premium experience, what differentiates one from another?
I found myself thinking about that while reviewing consumer research we recently commissioned among more than 1,000 people across the UK.
Like many people working in financial services, I've seen more surveys than I care to remember claiming consumers want businesses to reflect their values or become more sustainable. Those findings rarely tell us anything we don't already know.
One result from this research, however, made me stop and think.
When people were asked about payment cards made from alternative materials, many associated them with qualities such as craftsmanship, authenticity and exclusivity. Sustainability was part of the appeal, but it wasn't the whole story.
For years, banks have tended to treat sustainability as an obligation. Something customers expect them to do, rather than something capable of improving a product or strengthening a premium proposition.
I wonder whether that assumption is now becoming outdated.
Customers don't appear to separate premium and sustainability into two different conversations. They increasingly expect the two to work together.
Across many sectors, premium brands have realised that provenance, authenticity and responsible sourcing can enhance perceived quality rather than diminish it. Consumers buying high-end food, clothing, furniture or cars are often interested in where products come from and how they're made. Financial services may simply be catching up.
Banks have understandably focused on digital innovation over the past decade. Mobile apps have improved enormously. Payments have become faster. Customer journeys have become smoother.
Yet the physical payment card remains one of the few tangible products a bank places in a customer's hand.
That makes it surprisingly important.
For many customers, it is still the most visible expression of the relationship they have with their bank.
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