RBS looks to switch million NatWest customers to online only spin-off

The move has been reported by Forbes, which says it has been conceived as a way for the Edinburgh-based lender to head off competition from app-based startups banks like Monzo and Starling.

Some details about the project, which is being led by the Bank’s former chief operating officer Mark Bailie, first emerged in March.

Now, an anonymous insider quoted by Forbes said the new bank is being built by a lean team of just 80 developers and bankers — “purposefully based in Piccadilly away from the corporate London headquarters of RBS in Bishopsgate, for reasons of secrecy and culture”.

The report suggests a beta launch of the new bank - which will ape the approach of challenger banks with the development of a marketplace model - is on target for Q3.

Responding to the latest Forbes report, RBS, which is still more than 70 per cent taxpayer-owned, recycled the statement it issued in March.

It said: “Our industry is changing rapidly and therefore we need to keep pace with this by launching new approaches to better serve our customers. We will not comment on media speculation, but we’re focussed on using automation and technology to deliver a more efficient banking experience that better reflects the changing way our customers now bank.”