JPMorgan is about to launch a digital retail bank in the U.K.

January 27, 2021: On Wednesday, the biggest U.S. bank by assets said it is planning to expand its retail presence to the U.K. for the first time. It is only offering services via a mobile app instead of traditional bricks and mortar branches.

JPMorgan’s first product, which is being tested after its release later this year, will be a checking account that will be followed by a “range of products” including credit cards and home loans, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.

“We are bringing Chase to the U.K. because we want to provide customers with a new banking choice, that will enable them to benefit from a simple and exceptional banking experience, built on the significant capabilities of JPMorgan Chase,” said Gordon Smith. He runs JPMorgan’s retail banking division.

“The U.K. has a highly vibrant and competitive consumer banking marketplace, which is why we’ve designed the bank from scratch to meet the needs of customers specifically,” he said.

In recent years, reports that JPMorgan was working on a secretive project in the U.K. emerged after the bank listed job openings for technical positions.

In 2019, TechCrunch reported that the bank was in the early stages of creating a retail digital bank in the U.K. after shuttering a similar offering in the U.S. called Finn. Bloomberg first reported on the official rollout of the U.K. product.

The announcement comes after news that Dimon has admonished his management team about the rise of fintech competitors. Square and PayPal have surged in market capitalization in recent years, fueled in part by wallets’ viral success that is increasingly becoming full-service digital bank accounts.