Standard Chartered Bank`s decision to phase out the branding of online bank 20Twenty, and to replace it with its own branding, is a brave move.
There is a lot of goodwill related to the 20Twenty name and orange livery, but the blue and green Standard Chartered Bank is a relative newcomer to the country, and has much to do to establish the same level of awareness and warm, fuzzy feeling generated by 20Twenty over the past few years.
20Twenty is to banks what the original Volkswagen Beetle was to cars. The vehicle did not have all the fancy trimmings of a Mercedes-Benz, but it was generally reliable, durable and created generations of loyal fans who even created fan clubs around their cars.
To my knowledge, no other bank in SA has independent fan clubs like those of 20Twenty. And the bank even retained a militantly loyal customer base through 18 months of curatorship.
I have never had a 20Twenty account, but I still harbour some affection for this orange upstart that dared challenge the accepted norms of the otherwise dour and somewhat bureaucratic banking industry. Seeing its brand replaced with that of Standard Chartered is like watching the Beetle being replaced by the Golf.
The Golf still works well and is generally affordable, plus it has many of the trimmings that the Beetle didn`t have. But somehow it lacks the charm and "smile quality" of the Beetle.
Service levels
Standard Chartered Bank is a relative newcomer to the country, and has much to do to establish the same level of awareness and warm, fuzzy feeling generated by 20Twenty over the past few years.
Iain Scott, finance editor, ITWeb
Many customers have the same feeling, and it is evident from bulletin boards, including that on the 20Twenty Web site, that these customers feel they have some stake in the brand to which they remained loyal for so long. And some are not too happy about the change.
But Standard Chartered, like Volkswagen before it, must have its reasons for replacing the brand. And, like Volkswagen, it is also adding more trimmings, including home loans and fuel cards, under the Standard Chartered brand.
Although some customers are concerned that service levels will change, Standard Chartered Bank SA`s CEO, John Kivits, has said the bank has learned a lot about the local consumer banking market through 20Twenty, and will continue to "build momentum on this unique customer experience".
There is little reason to doubt that this will be the case. Standard Chartered is unlikely to want to change the same ethos that was one of the reasons it bought 20Twenty in the first instance. After all, loyal as the customer base may have been in the past, it is unlikely that they will remain if their bank changes for the worse. But while Standard Chartered may retain a loyal online customer base, only time will tell whether the warm, fuzzy feelings will be carried over.
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