Metro Bank
Metro Bank arrived in Ashford in December 2018, taking a prime location at the High Street entrance to County Square shopping centre.
Describing itself as a ‘revolution in banking’, the challenger bank is Britain’s first new high street bank in over 100 years. The brand was founded by Vernon Hill in 2010 and has expanded rapidly to a current total of 66 UK stores and this number is ever increasing.
The company’s business model is simple: lend money, take deposits, provide a full range of banking services, and offer amazing service to over one and a half million customer accounts.
“We’re excited to react to local customer feedback by providing a great banking service to Ashford’s growing population and the many businesses investing in the town.”
Kerri Miller, Local Director at Metro Bank
Stepping into the smart new Ashford store, it’s clear the customer takes priority – they are greeted within seconds by a team member and given as much help as they need. Opening times are a key point of difference and the store is open 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm during the week, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays and bank holidays. Even dogs are welcome, with treats on the counter for when they feel peckish in branch.
In fact it was customer demand that brought Metro Bank to Ashford, following the popularity of its other Kent stores in Canterbury and Maidstone.
Kerri Miller, local director at Metro Bank said, “We’re excited to react to local customer feedback by providing a great banking service to Ashford’s growing population and the many businesses investing in the town. We offer something totally different and are entirely focused on our customers – this has led to a great response to the new store so far.”
Community banking
Metro Bank aims to be a community bank. The Ashford store, which employs 19 local people, has already reached out to its local community with an all singing all dancing launch event, a charity carol concert and colleagues are now going out to local schools to spread the message of financial education.
Business networking
The bank will be holding monthly networking events with businesses and professionals invited to network and find out about the bank over refreshments.
