Bank linking interest rates to Facebook likes launches in UK

A German bank planning to link its interest rates to Facebook likes has launched in the UK today.

Customers opening a current account will initially be offered a savings rate of 0.25 per cent, which will rise to 0.5 per cent if a sufficient number of people engage with the bank on its Facebook page.

For every 2,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook the interest rate will improve, meaning that when the bank reaches 4,000 likes, the rate would rise to 0.35 per cent.

Online community

Matthias Kröner, Fidor’s chief executive, said customers’ user experience will be closer to social networking than banking, with an online ‘community’ offering peer-to-peer loans, finance tips and trading opportunities.

Key to the banks plans is the ‘Community Karma’ forum, designed to encourage online engagement by rewarding users for asking questions and spotting spelling errors.

Fidor does not currently have any branches or offer debit cards, instead hoping to gain traction with the new wave of digitally minded savers. The banks name is derived from the Latin word for trust.

The Germany-based bank is only offering current accounts at the moment, but plans to launch more services as it grows.

Fidor has been operating since 2009 and has 100,000 customers, with offices in Berlin and Munich, plus the recent addition of London.

Kröner told the Guardian: “The community is [the way] we offer a platform for conversation with our customers and user base, and we are going to define the future priorities. I have an idea what better banking is. It may not be the idea of the audience,” he said.

“We are the only bank paying money for asking questions. I don’t there is another bank on the planet to be paying for asking questions. Normally you get an annoyed look.”