25 | UK Enterprise Awards 2022 Of its position as a product manufacturer, Andy says “Traditional banks will lure customers in with loss-making products like current accounts and then cross-sell profit generating loans and cards. That’s not our model. Instead, we design profit-bearing products that fulfil specific market needs. We do this by designing our products in conjunction with our customers - primary research is an integral part of what we do”. He continues “Chetwood provides services to customers that other banks wouldn’t. At the heart of that is our approach to decisioning. Life happens and sometimes this can have an impact on a person’s credit history. We don’t judge customers on what their credit file looked like six years ago – we decide whether or not to accept a customer based on recent activity and then help them to improve their credit position.” Consistently looking forward is a core behaviour for the bank, and Open Banking is one trend that Andy believes will bring the next round of significant change within the banking industry. He explains “If consumers are motivated to share their data with financial services providers, lenders won’t be reliant only on the information shared by Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs). This means lending decisions could be more favourable - it’s a total gamechanger for customer-centric providers.” Bringing banking to non-banks Another differentiator for Chetwood is that they’re not just in the business of offering products directly to consumers. Since early 2021 they’ve enabled other businesses to develop their own financial services products through their Bankingas-a-Service (BaaS) proposition. “We provide a full end-to-end solution, not just one piece of the puzzle. We offer the tech platform, the banking licence and balance sheet, and the ability to develop propositions from the ground up. This means that we start by undertaking consumer research on behalf of our clients to create services that consumers actually want and more importantly, need,” says Andy. “We have customers who want to take advantage of all of the elements of our BaaS proposition and others who pick and choose. It’s our flexibility and experience that sets us apart.” A specific example of this is online retailers who want to embed financial services products into their shopping journey without the balance sheet risk of the lending. Launching into BaaS has already paid dividends for the bank, with a range of partnership-based deals now in development. People are the key to success Of course, it’s the people behind the products that are the key to Chetwood’s success. The company expects every team member to make a difference. “The qualities that we look for in our colleagues are courage, considered risk-taking, ownership, respect, empathy, resourcefulness and, most importantly, the ability to consider the customer in every action. We understand that the way we treat our people is reflected in the way they, in turn, treat our customers. We treat everyone the way that we would want to be treated ourselves.” Contact: Andy Mielczarek ([email protected]) Company: Chetwood Financial Limited Web Address: https://chetwood.co/ In 2016, business partners Andy Mielczarek and Mark Jenkinson (Jenks) started out on a journey to challenge conventional banking models. The pair founded Chetwood, a digital bank designed to create distinctive and disruptive financial products for targeted customer groups. We speak to Chetwood CEO, Andy, to find out more. When they launched Chetwood, Andy and Jenks were certain that they would challenge everything about conventional banking. Andy explains, “Chetwood is not a typical bank. We’re the antithesis of the pinstripe suited banker – we’re approachable, modern and inclusive.” Doing things differently From the outset, Chetwood was concerned about doing things differently. Andy tells us, “Nobody has created a bank in North Wales before. We saw the opportunity and seized it. There is a great pool of talent in North Wales and across the North West, and we’ve managed to hire some brilliant people. Another clear benefit of being based outside of the capital is that our costs are lower. We can pass these savings on to our customers in the form of better rates. As we operate from a digital platform, we reach customers right across the UK.” 2018 was a big year for the bank. Not only did they launch their revolutionary LiveLend loan under a Consumer Credit Licence, but later on became the only bank that year to have a full UK banking licence awarded by the PRA and FCA. Chetwood has since ramped up production, launching several brand-led propositions that use technology to make people better off. Most Innovative Digital Retail Bank 2022 May22455
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