News from Natwest, and Lloyds with introduction of Polish Banking.  This is in keeping with the earlier pieces we had on addressing immigrants’ needs and seeing that as an opportunity for market protection. 

I don’t see this so much as innovation, because anyone can do that.  However failure to implement such services, will doubtless result in reduced market share over time, as the population becomes more mixed.

Natwest says its new Welcome Account comes with a related money transfer feature that enables Polish customers in the UK to send money back home. Customers can transfer funds straight from the current account into the money transfer account. A family member in Poland, nominated by the customer, can then withdraw funds from the money transfer account from ATMs in Poland using a NatWest card.

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Last week Lloyds TSB said it was transforming one of its Manchester branches into a city centre banking “superstore” designed to provide tailored services to all new immigrant arrivals, particularly the expanding Polish community in the city.

Source: Finextra: Natwest launches Polish account in the UK