15 ways RBS changed in 2015

Here we look at 15 ways that the bank is different after another 12 months of change.

1. Card for blind and partially sighted customers

The card was the first banking product designed especially for blind and partially sighted customers. We worked closely with the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the development of the card and in recognition of this work the debit and savings cards were the first banking products to be awarded their national quality assurance mark ‘RNIB approved’.

2. Four new Entrepreneurial Spark hubs

In February we opened a hub in Birmingham followed by three new hubs in September. The new business accelerator hubs were launched in partnership with Entrepreneurial Spark to help entrepreneurs in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Brighton take their ideas to the next level. We also announced that by February 2017, 13 Entrepreneurial Spark hubs would be launched across the UK.

3. Announced gender targets

More than 30% of the 5,000 most senior roles at RBS are already held by women, but we want to go further with a new target to ensure there are more women at the top of the organisation. The new goal is to have more than 30% female representation in the bank’s top 600 roles by 2020. The longer term aim is to have a 50/50 balance at all levels by 2030.

4. Put a stop to free-trial scams affecting customers

After noticing that our customers were unexpectedly being charged for goods they didn’t want, we realised that many people were being scammed by ‘free-trials’ with continuing charges. We raised the issue with Visa, MasterCard and Cards UK and provided them with the details of merchants causing regular complaints. This information has led to over 1,000 of these companies having their acquirer relationship terminated leaving them unable to process payments.

5. Launched TouchID for our mobile app

Earlier this year Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest customers were the first of any UK-based bank to be able to login to their mobile banking app using only their finger print. Using Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor, eligible customers are able to access their mobile banking app within seconds.

6. Incentives for front line staff scrapped

NatWest and The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that from 1 January 2016, they will scrap incentives for all customer-facing employees in the Personal and Business Banking business. This means that employees based in branches, in call centres or helping customers with their businesses will be fully focused on helping customers with their financial needs.

7. Official partner to Sport Relief 2016

September more than 750 employees cycled from RBS’s main offices in London to the headquarters in Gogarburn, Edinburgh, over a five day period, stopping along the way at Banbury, Stafford, Birmingham, Manchester, Blackburn and Carlisle. Our employees have raised over £632,000 (including GiftAid) so far.

8. Introduced Facebook at Work

In October we introduced a ground-breaking partnership with Facebook that will bring the social networking service to employees across the bank. Facebook At Work, a business version of Facebook, will be available to 100,000 staff across the bank to encourage collaboration and allow employees to communicate faster and more efficiently.

9. Launched Apple Pay for customers

NatWest and The Royal Bank of Scotland now offer customers access to Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay. The introduction of Apple Pay is another way we are making it easier and more secure for customers to do their banking on the move.

10. New and improved MoneySense

This year we launched our new and improved MoneySense programme. The financial education programme has helped millions of young people learn about money in the UK and Ireland for over 21 years. We aim to reach 1 million young people, have 60% of secondary schools registered and 50% primary schools registered by 2018.

Find out more at MyMoneySense.com

11. UK Government selling RBS shares

Earlier this year the UK Government began selling RBS back into private ownership.

Read how RBS has changed since 2008

12. Fully deconsolidated US subsidiary Citizens

The sale of our holding in Citizens Financial Group represents the achievement of a major milestone and the fulfilment of our related state aid commitment more than one year ahead of the deadline.

13. NatWest branch documentary

Ross McEwan, RBS CEO explained the decision to let a film crew into a NatWest branch:

"I think this is important for RBS because we do want to be a much more open bank. We've got 90,000 people who get out of bed and want to do a good job for customers and I hope this series shows that. It is a brave call to open ourselves up, it certainly would not have happened before 2008 and that just shows the change that's happening in this bank."

14. Opened our busiest branches on bank holidays

This year we broke with a 144 year old tradition and opened 34 of the busiest branches across the UK on a bank holiday. The way people bank is changing, so we’re adapting by opening branches when many customers are not at work.

15. Launched new Reward current account

For a fee for £3 a month account holders will receive 3% of their expenditure back in rewards on a range of household bills, including: council tax, gas, electricity, water, phones, TV and broadband. This means that customers paying more than £100 per month in eligible household bill direct debits will earn their £3 monthly fee back.

10. New and improved MoneySense

This year we launched our new and improved MoneySense programme. The financial education programme has helped millions of young people learn about money in the UK and Ireland for over 21 years. We aim to reach 1 million young people, have 60% of secondary schools registered and 50% primary schools registered by 2018.

Find out more at MyMoneySense.com

11. UK Government selling RBS shares

Earlier this year the UK Government began selling RBS back into private ownership.

Read how RBS has changed since 2008

12. Fully deconsolidated US subsidiary Citizens

The sale of our holding in Citizens Financial Group represents the achievement of a major milestone and the fulfilment of our related state aid commitment more than one year ahead of the deadline.

13. NatWest branch documentary

Ross McEwan, RBS CEO explained the decision to let a film crew into a NatWest branch:

"I think this is important for RBS because we do want to be a much more open bank. We've got 90,000 people who get out of bed and want to do a good job for customers and I hope this series shows that. It is a brave call to open ourselves up, it certainly would not have happened before 2008 and that just shows the change that's happening in this bank."

14. Opened our busiest branches on bank holidays

This year we broke with a 144 year old tradition and opened 34 of the busiest branches across the UK on a bank holiday. The way people bank is changing, so we’re adapting by opening branches when many customers are not at work.

15. Launched new Reward current account

For a fee for £3 a month account holders will receive 3% of their expenditure back in rewards on a range of household bills, including: council tax, gas, electricity, water, phones, TV and broadband. This means that customers paying more than £100 per month in eligible household bill direct debits will earn their £3 monthly fee back.