Midland strikes supermarket deal

Midland Bank is opening a pilot branch inside a Morrisons super-market – a month after Morrisons forged a similar deal with Barclays Bank.

Barclays opened a trial branch at Morrisons in Newark in February, with cashpoint, telephone banking and personal banking facilities.

But yesterday (Tuesday), Morrisons said it was entering into a “strategic partnership” with Midland and the bank would open a pilot branch at its Bradford store, offering personal banking and jointly branded financial services.

A Barclays spokeswoman says the bank is not aware that Morrisons is planning the “Midland at Morrisons” initiative and admits to being surprised by the move. She says she expected the Barclays trial to be extended to other Morrisons stores if it was successful.

Midland will open its branch within the store near the wines and spirits area, and offer a full range of services. Morrisons says the Midland pilot is different to the Barclays trial because it offers the chance of co-branding — and will eventually offer a “Midland at Morrisons” savings account.

City analysts claim the Midlands deal is good for Morrisons, although they play down its financial significance for the chain.