JPMorgan Chase says its long-anticipated app-based UK bank will launch in the "coming months", with more than 400 staffers already hired to support the venture.
Rumours of JPMorgan's intention to introduce a Chase-branded online lender in the UK have been circulating for a couple of years.
With a launch now on the horizon, the US giant has confirmed it is licensed and ready to go, taking on a crowded market of established high street players and digital challengers. The first product offered is a current account, which is already being piloted.
Explaining the decision to make a UK play, JPMorgan cites its "extensive research" showing that even as digital banking has become mainstream, consumers consider stability and trustworthiness of providers a key factor.
It is hoping that Chase - a huge name in the States but not as well known in Britain - will combine "the reassurance of an established and trusted bank with a seamless customer experience".
Central to this is a purpose-built call centre in Edinburgh that will offer personalised services around the clock. JPMorgan has already created over 400 jobs at the centre and the new venture's headquarters in Canary Wharf, with more positions set to follow.
Gordon Smith, CEO, consumer and community banking, JPMorgan Chase, says: "We are bringing Chase to the UK. because we want to provide customers with a new banking choice - one that will enable them to benefit from a simple and exceptional banking experience, built on the significant capabilities of JPMorgan Chase.
“The UK has a vibrant and highly competitive consumer banking marketplace, which is why we’ve designed the bank from scratch to specifically meet the needs of customers here."
JPMorgan will be hoping that the UK digital unit will prove more successful than a similar effort in its home market. Finn, the mobile-only banking offshoot aimed at millennials, was shut down in 2019, just a year after its nationwide launch.