United Kingdom Retail Banking Market Report and Forecast 2025-2034

The United Kingdom retail banking market size reached approximately USD 44.00 Billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 1.90% between 2025 and 2034, reaching a value of around USD 53.11 Billion by 2034.

Key Takeaways

Retail banking, also known as consumer banking, offers financial services such as savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and personal loans, among others, to individuals, families, and small businesses. It offers low-cost funding as well as a secure and stable system of deposits for its consumers.

The United Kingdom retail banking market is being driven by the growing popularity of telephone and online banking and the proliferation of automated teller machines (ATMs). The increasing number of high-net-worth individuals in the country is further propelling the market expansion. Besides, services such as automobile financing, checking and savings accounts, and foreign currency and remittance services, among others, offered by retail banking also fuel the market expansion.

Key Trends and Developments

Migration of financial services to the cloud; the emergence of embedded retail banking; the adoption of cost-cutting measures by retail banks; and the deployment of AI in retail banks are positively impacting the United Kingdom retail banking market growth

May 24th 2023

JPMorgan Chase's UK app-based retail bank added nearly 1.6 million customers and a deposit of EUR 15 billion after its 2021 launch.

Dec 16th 2021

Leading retail banks like Barclays Bank UK, Nationwide Building Society, HSBC UK, TSB Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Danske, and Santander collaborated to share services and ensure long-term availability of cash.

Jan 27th 2021

JPMorgan announced the launch of a digital retail bank through its mobile app in the United Kingdom to meet the diverse needs of customers.

March 2024

Griffin, a UK-based banking-as-a-service platform, officially became a fully operational bank after receiving approval from UK regulators. The launch followed a USD 24 million funding round, positioning Griffin as the first BaaS platform in the country with a banking licence to offer financial products seamlessly to tech-driven firms.

Migration of financial services to the cloud

Retail banks are increasingly migrating to cloud infrastructure as it offers decoupled services, scalability, flexibility, and cost-effective services.

Emergence of embedded retail banking

There is an increasing emergence of embedded retail banking concepts that offer hassle-free and quick financial services and allow customers to stay on the app while making a purchase.

Implementation of cost-cutting measures by retail banks

Retail banks are increasingly adopting cost-cutting measures like investing in technologies, improving staff productivity, and simplifying products and services to enhance their profitability.

Rising deployment of AI in retail banking

AI is expected to empower retail banks to enhance their customer services, offer personalised recommendations and tailored investment advice, and automate different applications.

The growing migration of retail banks and financial services to the cloud infrastructure to enhance the customer banking experience is one of the major trends favouring the United Kingdom retail banking market growth. Cloud infrastructure offers decoupled services in which if a single subsystem fails, the entire system does not shut down. Furthermore, it offers the feature of scalability through which retail banks can scale up or down depending on the number of customer requests.

Several retail banks are implementing cost-cutting methods such as reduction in staff size and automation of manual or repetitive processes, due to rising economic volatility and inflation in the country. Moreover, as per the 2024 retail banking report by Capgemini, seven shared banking hubs, which house representatives of multiple banks, have also started operating in the UK to reduce operational costs.

Market Segmentation

“United Kingdom Retail Banking Market Report and Forecast 2025-2034” offers a detailed analysis of the market based on the following segments:

Market Breakup by Type:

• Commercial Banks
• Rural Banks
• Others

Market Breakup by Function:

• Bank Account Opening
• Deposits and Withdrawals
• Debit and Credit Card Issuance
• Investment and Insurance
• Others

Market Breakup by End User:

• Individuals
• Businesses

Commercial banks occupy a significant United Kingdom retail banking market share due to the expansion of ATMs and bank branches

Commercial banks occupy a significant market share as they offer a broad range of services to their customers such as fixed deposits, loans, and mutual funds, among others, compared to the rural banks. They have a wide expanse of bank branches and ATMs across the country and allow their customers easy access to funds.

Meanwhile, rural banks are anticipated to gain sizeable growth in the forecast period as they offer specialised services such as inexpensive credit facilities, and agricultural loans, among others, to rural communities.

The demand for bank account opening is increasing due to high request volumes regarding the opening of new bank accounts

Bank account opening accounts for a substantial share of the United Kingdom retail banking market, due to the high volume of requests regarding the opening of new bank accounts for making withdrawals and deposits. Bank accounts offer customers the provision of access to their funds anytime depending upon their requirements through online banking, mobile apps, and ATMS.

Meanwhile, debit and credit card issuance is expected to gain robust growth in the coming years, due to the growing adoption of these cards for quick and cashless payments. Besides, retail banks offer customers the facility of depositing their funds in a secure way and ease withdrawals of funds for payment of goods and services.

Competitive Landscape

Major players in the United Kingdom retail banking market are integrating various technologies into retail banking to enhance customer experience, surge their profitability, and improve operational efficiency

Other United Kingdom retail banking market players include Standard Chartered PLC, Santander UK plc, Nationwide Building Society, Schroders plc, Close Brothers Group plc., and Coventry Building Society, among others.