AA Financial Services and Bank of Ireland UK have formed a new partnership to provide a range of financial services over an initial 10-year period.
The first product will be an AA credit card, expected to be available by the end of July. This will be followed by loans, savings and a further credit card before the end of the year; and mortgages next year.
Kathryn Thomas, managing director of AA Financial Services, commented: “We’ll be adding the AA’s first mortgage next year, which fits well with the AA’s large and growing home services customer businesses. This is an exciting new venture that will help to develop the AA’s vigour as a growing force in UK financial services.
“It also builds on the AA’s status as Britain’s ‘most trusted brand, enabling us to offer relevant and timely services that meet the expectations of AA roadside members as well as the wider public.”
According to the Brand Asset Valuator April 2014, outside of charities, the AA came first in a survey of 3,000 people, ahead of Post Office, Boots and Google as the UK’s most trusted brand.
In recent years, the AA’s range of financial services has been sourced from several different providers. The AA launched its first Visa credit card in 1984, loans followed in 1985 and in 2004 AA launched a savings portfolio. More recently the business has offered pre-paid travel currency cards.
Bank of Ireland has been in the UK for over 40 years and also has a financial services relationship and foreign exchange joint venture with the Post Office. It provides mortgages and car and asset finance throughout the UK. BOI also has a full service retail and commercial bank in Northern Ireland with a 36 strong branch network.
