History of the First Direct Bank

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History of the First Direct Bank

A division of the HSBC group, the First Direct banking Group is one of the first telephones and internet based UK based commercial banks. With its head office in Leeds, Yorkshire, and working out of two customer service centers in Leeds and in Hamilton, near Glasgow in Scotland, the First Direct boasts a client base of over one million satisfied customers.

The idea behind First Direct came from the Midland Bank, who established the bank in the autumn of 1989 to cope with the tremendous interest and profit advantages of internet banking. The bank operates around the clock, seven days a week and there has never been a single interruption since the bank opened its doors almost twenty years ago.

In 1992, the Midland Banks was acquired by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, more commonly known as HSBC. Rumours in banking circles have it that HSBC found the First Direct a more attractive proposition than the Midland Bank, but were obliged to take the whole package. This rumour has always been denied by both parties, who claim that HSBC had been buying up Midland Bank shares well before the First Direct Bank had even been formed.

The First Direct Bank's first steps into internet banking began in 1997, and were going full tilt by the following year. One of the innovations pioneered by the First Direct Bank was the use of SMS texting to instantly alert customers to fluctuations in their account. By the early stages of the twenty first century, First Direct Bank was putting their toes in the water of providing offset mortgages.

In addition to a number of ancillary services launched around that time, the Bank introduced an Internet Banking plus scheme in 2004. This scheme provided its subscribers with an all inclusive financial picture of their entire banking set up from current accounts, saving accounts to credit card accounts not only from the First Direct Bank but also from other third party banks. In keeping pace with telecommunication developments, the Bank now provides the same service for mobile smartphones, allowing someone on the move to keep track of their financial situation through the bank's WAP technology powered Monilink system.

In its short history, the First Direct Bank has kept pace of all the developments in technology of the last two decades, with the expectation that, despite the current recession, the bank will continue to keep pace.