JN Bank, a digital bank with a Brixton branch that’s part of the Jamaica National group, operates on a mission to ‘enrich lives and build communities’.
If this sounds worthy coming from a financial corporation, then take a moment to think about the context in which the JN group was founded.
Formed around 150 years ago, Jamaica National was originally a coming together of the island nation’s early building societies, the first of which was born in the vestry of a church shortly after the emancipation of slavery.
“People were free, but they didn’t have any assets, or savings, or any source of income,” explains Paulette Simpson CBE, Deputy CEO of JN Bank and an executive for the JN Group in charge of corporate affairs.
Those early building societies – one in each of Jamaica’s 14 parishes – were an opportunity for communities to save money collectively, in order to eventually buy homes.
The coming together of the building societies under the Jamaica National umbrella saw the company grow and spawn new offshoots, including the Jamaica National Bank, which today is one of the country’s leading finance houses.
While JN Bank only launched in the UK in 2019, many Brixton locals will have already been familiar with the branding: the company’s remittance arm, JN Money, has been running on Brixton Road for around 30 years, set up to help the settlers of the Windrush Generation manage their finances between the UK and Jamaica.
The service allowed its customers to quickly and safely transfer the funds needed to support elderly relatives; build homes; pay school fees; or transfer their British pensions back to Jamaica if they were choosing to retire there.
“Banks here don’t always understand the needs of people with Jamaican roots,” Paulette stresses.
“This has become increasingly apparent in the last 20 years, with British banks severing their business relationships with certain countries, over fears of money laundering and terrorism.
“Many island nations, including Jamaica, have been unfairly caught up in this, and it’s become increasingly difficult for British residents with Jamaican roots to move their money between the countries as a result.”
JN Bank in Brixton
Knowing something must be done to help their customers, JN Group stated the case for a UK-based JN Bank, and eventually their wishes were granted by the Bank of England in 2019.
It should have been a moment of celebration for the many people looking to move their money between the countries, and an easy process of acquiring new customers for JN Group.
An official launch event was due to raise awareness about the new bank in April 2020, but then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, and all events were postponed. JN Bank eventually had a soft launch later that year, but having opened without much hubbub, there’s a high chance many would-be customers still aren’t aware of it.
While many people who use JN Bank have some links to Jamaica – from heritage ties or a desire to buy property there it’s not exclusive to Jamaican or Jamaican-British customers. Anyone can use the bank.
A big pull in south London is the physical branch it operates on Brixton Road.
JN is a digital bank, primarily, but it operates a solo branch, in part to offer peace of mind and ease for older customers, who prefer to do their banking in person.
“Older people and people in vulnerable situations aren’t comfortable doing their transactions online,” Paulette reasons.
But while the bank helps people with their finances by day, by night it operates as a community hub, running a programme of free events and engagement activities.
“Although we’re digital, we wanted to make sure we maintain our very deep contacts we’ve built with the community over 30 years,” says Paulette.
“We’re only three years old but we’re breaking through and letting people know we’re there for them.”
Events so far have included workshops to empower and inspire young people coming from vulnerable situations; a monthly support group for men living with prostate cancer; a monthly charity programme where the community can nominate a charity to support; a wine tasting evening; and a motivational talk from Baroness Floella Benjamin.
It’s not stopping there, either. While JN Bank began to support personal banking, recognising the number of hungry young creatives and entrepreneurs looking for a boost to get their business or projects going, it’s moving into lending : offering loans to support small to medium businesses.
“Larger banks have ignored that section of the community for some time,” Paulette comments.
The tides, it seems, are changing for personal finance, and JN Bank is steering its boat into the future.
JN Bank, 410 Brixton Road, London SW9 7AW.
Monday – Friday, 10am – 3pm.
