Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking services which are regarded as retail include provision of savings and

transactional account A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share draft account at credit unions, is a deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the ...

s, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, and

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

s. Retail banking is also distinguished from

investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

or commercial banking. It may also refer to a division or department of a bank which deals with individual customers. In the U.S., the term

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...

is used for a ''normal'' bank to distinguish it from an

investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

. After the Great Depression, the Glass–Steagall Act restricted normal banks to banking activities, and investment banks to capital market activities. That distinction was repealed in the 1990s. Commercial bank can also refer to a bank or a division of a bank that deals mostly with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses, as opposed to individual members of the public (retail banking).

Products

Halifax bank, Commercial Street, Leeds (27th May 2010)

Typical banking services offered by retail banks include: *

Transactional account A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share draft account at credit unions, is a deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the ...

s ** Checking accounts (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

) ** Current accounts (

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

) *

Savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditionally, tran ...

s * Debit cards * ATM cards *

Credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

s * Traveler's cheques * Mortgages * Home equity loans * Personal loans * Certificates of deposit/ Term deposits In some countries, such as the U.S., retail bank services also include more specialised accounts, such as: * Sweep accounts *

Money market account A money market account (MMA) or money market deposit account (MMDA) is a deposit account that pays interest based on current interest rates in the money markets. The interest rates paid are generally higher than those of savings accounts and ...

s *

Individual Retirement Account An individual retirement account (IRA) in the United States is a form of pension provided by many financial institutions that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. It is a trust that holds investment assets purchased with a taxpayer's ...

s (IRA's)

Sub-types of retail banks

Community development bank Community development bank (CDB) or Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) is a development bank or credit union that focus on serving people who have been locked out of the traditional financial systems such as the unbanked or under ...

are regulated banks that provide financial services and credit to underserved markets or populations. * Private banks manage the assets of

high-net-worth individual High-net-worth individual (HNWI) is a term used by some segments of the financial services industry to designate persons whose investible wealth (assets such as stocks and bonds) exceeds a given amount. Typically, these individuals are define ...

s. *

Offshore bank An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...

s are banks located in jurisdictions with low taxation and regulation. Many offshore banks are essentially private banks. *

Savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to ...

s accept savings deposits. *

Postal savings bank Postal savings systems provide depositors who do not have access to banks a safe and convenient method to save money. Many nations have operated banking systems involving post offices to promote saving money among the poor. History In 1861, G ...

s are savings banks associated with national postal systems.

References

* Tiwari, Rajnish and Buse, Stephan (2006)
The German Banking Sector: Competition, Consolidation and Contentment
Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg-Harburg) * Brunner, A., Decressin, J. / Hardy, D. / Kudela, B. (2004): Germanys Three-Pillar Banking System – Cross-Country Perspectives in Europe, Occasional Paper, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Retail Banking Banking Scottish inventions Service retailing

Products

Sub-types of retail banks

See also

References