The 2nd Fairbanking Awards - 4 new Marks awarded!
Working to improve the financial well-being delivered by banking products
The Fairbanking Foundation was set up to create a new way to bring about continuous improvement in how well banking products help customers to manage their money.
One of our inspirations was ‘NCAP’ – the body that measures and promotes safety standards in cars. Since it was formed, NCAP has brought about improvement in car safety beyond all recognition. The Fairbanking Foundation’s mission is to do the same with how banking products help customers to manage their money better.
Our approach is also similar. We do thorough, in-depth research to identify what product design and features help people to run their finances more effectively. Then we measure all products available in the market to see how they rank against our research findings - and each other - and publish those results.
Beyond this, banking providers can have a product tested thoroughly by the Fairbanking Foundation to see if it will qualify for a 3, 4 or 5 star ‘Fairbanking Mark’. An important part of this testing is independent research carried out with existing customers of that product to see just how well the product has delivered for them in practice.
Those products that pass these stringent requirements will be granted the appropriate grade of the Fairbanking Mark and are then allowed to display the logo showing that it is a certified product meeting the 3, 4 or 5 star standard.
Customers, both existing and new, can then see which products have met the Fairbanking standards and the reasons why. Banking providers keen to compete will be encouraged to offer the best products they can, meeting the standards that Fairbanking’s research says people need.
And as with NCAPs standards, Fairbanking will continually raise its benchmarks in step with how technology, innovation and competition improves what can be achieved for the customer. In this way providers will be motivated to continually enhance their products to keep up with or even lead the market.
What is the Fairbanking Foundation trying to achieve?...watch here.
What does it take for a product to earn the Fairbanking Mark?...watch here.
What are the plans for Fairbanking's future? ...watch here.
