In the UK financial services landscape, brand plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer choices. However, the influence of brand varies significantly between savings products and lending products such as loans and mortgages. This article delves into how brand trust, recognition, and purpose impact consumer decisions in these two domains, supported by recent research and examples from UK financial institutions.
When consumers consider savings products, trust in the financial institution is paramount. Savers seek assurance that their money is secure and that the institution operates with integrity. According to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), promoting awareness of protection schemes helps consumers make informed and confident financial choices.
Many traditional building societies often benefit from longstanding reputations. Even the largest, Nationwide Building Society, which recently purchased Virgin, still promotes its mutual status, emphasising member benefits and community focus, which in turn, builds trust among savers. Their commitment to customer service and financial stability has been a cornerstone of their brand identity.
They are also accessible, in that they have a physical presence on the high street, which many older customers look for in a savings provider.
Conversely, digital banks like Monzo and Starling have rapidly gained trust by offering user-friendly apps, transparency, and innovative features. Monzo’s approach to customer engagement and clear communication has resonated with users, leading to high customer satisfaction ratings.
When it comes to lending—including personal loans, credit cards, and mortgages—brand recognition still matters, but it is often weighed alongside other factors such as interest rates and the cost of borrowing, approval speed, and how flexible products are when it comes to repayments. Consumers tend to prioritise the financial terms and convenience offered by lenders over brand.
Fintech companies have disrupted traditional lending by providing streamlined application processes and competitive rates. For example, Zopa, originally a peer-to-peer lending platform, has evolved into a digital bank offering personal loans with quick approval times, appealing to consumers seeking efficiency over brand heritage.
However, established banks leverage their brand strength to instil confidence in borrowers. HSBC and Barclays, for instance, offer comprehensive mortgage services backed by decades of experience, which can be reassuring for consumers making significant financial commitments and decisions on products they might only make a handful of times in their lifetime.
Beyond trust and recognition, brand purpose—what the organisation stands for—has become increasingly influential in consumer decision-making. A study by KPMG highlights that consumers assess value through their personal value sets, where the purpose of the business and its societal considerations are balanced against the price they are willing to pay.
Financial institutions that articulate a clear and meaningful purpose can differentiate themselves in a crowded market. For example:
Starling Bank: Has a focus on financial inclusion and support for small businesses, aligning its services with broader social goals.
Triodos Bank: Is built around its ethical banking proposition, investing in projects that benefit people and the planet, attracting customers who prioritise sustainability.
Coop Insurance: Have always offered a better rate and additional benefits to members
These institutions demonstrate that a compelling brand purpose can attract and retain customers who share similar values.
While some brands focus on meaningful differentiation through purpose, others attempt to stand out through novel branding strategies. For instance, the rebranding of Standard Life Aberdeen to “Abrdn” aimed to modernise the brand but received mixed reactions regarding its clarity and impact.
In contrast, brands that integrate purpose into their core operations tend to build deeper connections with consumers. Monzo’s commitment to transparency and user empowerment has fostered a loyal customer base, demonstrating that meaningful differentiation often resonates more than superficial changes.
In the UK financial services sector, brand plays a multifaceted role in consumer decision-making. For savings products, trust and brand recognition are critical, with consumers seeking security and reliability. In lending, while brand remains important, factors like rates and convenience often take precedence. However, across both domains, a clear and authentic brand purpose can significantly enhance consumer appeal, fostering loyalty and differentiation in a competitive market.
In a financial services market where trust, recognition, and purpose drive customer decisions, a strong, meaningful brand is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s essential.
That’s where Creode’s Brand Accelerator comes in. Designed specifically for financial services businesses, the Brand Accelerator helps both established players and ambitious start-ups navigate change and opportunity. Whether the goal is defending market share in a shifting landscape or launching something new to meet emerging customer needs, we help brands become memorable for the right reasons, leading to deeper customer engagement, stronger brand equity, and real commercial growth.
At the heart of the Brand Accelerator is a simple but powerful formula: it helps brands uncover what makes them genuinely different, and positively position that difference in customers’ minds, and define how they can be genuinely meaningful in customers’ lives.
Through in-depth customer discovery (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews), market and competitor analysis, internal stakeholder interviews, and facilitated workshops, we uncover the insights that matter.
From there, we develop strategy and recommendations—clarifying purpose, proposition, messaging, personality and positioning. We then bring it all to life with naming, visual identity, brand look and feel, brand guidelines, and rollout planning across colleague, customer and market touchpoints. The result? A brand with clarity, relevance, and impact—built to thrive in a fast-evolving sector.
If you’re ready to create a brand that stands out, connects deeply, and drives real business growth, Whether you’re launching something new or repositioning for the future, Creode’s Brand Accelerator gives you the strategy, insight, and creative direction to make your brand unforgettable—for all the right reasons.
Let’s build a brand your customers believe in.
Get in touch with Creode today to start the conversation.
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