virgin money

  THINGS ABOUT VIRGIN MONEY YOU NEED TO KNOW

Virgin Money, the challenger brand that started with white-labeled credit cards almost 20 years ago, is finally a full-service bank with a technology platform as good as anything offered by rivals. 

This digital bank is arguably better than any of the retail neo-banks launched in Australia over the past couple of years. Its range of products includes deposits, mortgages, superannuation, and insurance.

In other words, it is a full-service financial institution with a wider array of products than other neo banks as well as having the backing of a well-capitalized parent.

Millions of people around the world started working remotely in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But where some employers wanted people back in the office Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, virgin money has chosen to create a working environment that allows its colleagues freedom of flexibility beyond what a lot of companies can offer.

Virgin Money recognizes that flexible working has the potential to help its people to live their best lives – whether that means being there to pick their children up from school, prioritizing their wellbeing by taking some time for themselves, or simply not having to spend an hour traveling to and from work. 

“In today's society, things are very complex. People are juggling so much complexity in their lives,” Syreeta Brown, Group Chief People and Communications Officer at Virgin Money, said. “What we're trying to do here as a group is to acknowledge that the world of work has to look human because the people that we need to work in it are human and they're managing all of this complexity. A lot of inclusion happens because of this flexibility – economically, physically, and socially. This is an inclusive agenda and allows us to treat people like human beings. It gets rid of the clinical interactions that are part of the traditional model.”

This is why Virgin Money has introduced A Life More Virgin – a values-led approach to flexible working. 

BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE AND NUDGING BEHAVIOUR

  The says Virgin Money consumers were cynical of rewards programs that offered chunks of points up front or points rewarded for large-scale transactions.

“The research told us that consumers felt that most traditional financial services reward programs were just an add-on at the end of an experience,” he says.

“So, what we sought to design and co-create with our customers is a reward program that has features and benefits that are not just a one-off acquisition hook at the beginning but a program that continues to reward customers throughout the life cycle of their relationship with us.

“It’s the things that a traditional financial services provider wouldn’t necessarily do, such as helping save and building toward their goals, like home ownership, travel or whatever that might be, and the sort of surprise and delight features that you’d expect from a challenger brand.”

 BoQ is using the sort of behavioral science and nudging behavior that is recommended by leaders in financial literacy.