In a press release published on December 20, 2023, the La Banque Postale group announced that it was studying a plan to cease the activities of Ma French Bank, its online bank launched 5 years ago.
This is news that risks worrying the 750,000 customers of Ma French Bank, the online bank of the Banque Postale group. For good reason, the parent company has just announced in a press release published on December 20, 2023 “study a plan to cease activity” from Ma French Bank.
With this in mind, the company has also launched a procedure for informing and consulting unions . According to the group, this phase of social dialogue begins after carrying out a “strategic review of Ma French Bank”, 5 years after its launch in 2019. From what this shows, the online banking solution did indeed meet with some success in its infancy, but in 2023, it still has not achieved profitability or found its economic model.
My French Bank is no longer compatible with the group’s strategy
In the eyes of the group, saving Ma French Bank presents itself as a project incompatible with its new strategy, which would require “massive investments, in particular by expanding its range of products and offers of equipment”. Indeed, the new CEO Stéphane Dedeyan, in office since October 2023, seeks to refocus the group’s activities on its fundamentals and by accelerating its digitalization.
As specified in the press release, if the cessation of activity is finally pronounced, the process will be carried out “gently” during the next 12 to 18 months. What about the 161 employees of Ma French Bank? They can if they wish obtain a new position within the group. As for the 750,000 online banking customers, they will have the possibility of opening an account within the Postal Bank, which would include a transfer of all their assets, assets and deposits.
Widespread difficulties among online banks
Remember that for several years now, the online banking sector has been experiencing unprecedented difficulties. Indeed, Ma French Bank is not the first actor to draw the curtain. We remember the complicated closure of ING in 2022 during which customers were invited to migrate to Boursorama, a subsidiary of Société Générale.
In June 2023, it was Orange Bank which closed shop, after losing no less than 1.09 billion euros since its launch in 2017. Orange’s online bank had negotiated a sale of its customer base to one of the subsidiaries of BNP Paribas, namely Hello Bank!.
Source: La Banque Postale