UK digital bank first direct has launched an online platform where customers can get directly involved in helping the HSBC unit develop new products and services.
Following a pilot, the fdesign 'co-creation lab' is opening up to invited customers, who can access a separate part of the first direct website to take part in surveys or discussion forums, or even become involved with prototype testing.
The concept is hardly new to first direct, which first launched a lab site back in 2011 to give visitors the chance to see what the bank was planning and critique it through a comment facility and forum.
Crowdsourced ideas from that effort made their way into a site redesign, although the results received mixed community feedback.
Speaking about the latest move, bank CEO Tracy Garrad says: "fdesign is a new way of working, a genuine co-creation space focused on gathering opinions and sharing new ideas. It gives us an area where we can work with our customers to create a truly modern and open banking service that’s right for now and the future.”