Abstract
Packaged and premium accounts have now become an accepted feature in the UKs financial services landscape, offering account holders a range of benefits and perks, generally in return for a monthly fee. In an ever more competitive financial services market, providers need to take any opportunity possible to maintain margins and to create a point of differentiation between themselves and their rivals, and for current account providers, packaged accounts have proved to be invaluable in this respect.
Alongside these packaged accounts, banks are increasingly looking to secure the loyalty of their most valuable customers through the development of premium accounts. Effectively, these accounts bridge the gap between standard current accounts and the more exclusive private bank accounts, allowing banks to offer an enhanced product to the more affluent without the high costs associated with servicing true private bank accounts.
The overall market conditions are relatively positive for both sectors, with affluent consumers and high employment meaning that they are able to afford the monthly fees levied on value-added accounts. People are increasingly taking multiple holidays, meaning that the annual travel insurance offered by most packaged accounts is particularly attractive to consumers.
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