BankBlackwell, a new Internet-only bank targeting African-Americans, began it's roll-out today, with its first press release announcing OTS approval. The bank hope to launch this summer, provided they raise sufficient capital and pass regulatory muster.

CEO James Mundy and CIO Bruce Narison briefed me on the bank last fall, and they have impressive plans. We'll keep you posted as they lift the veil on their online banking platform.

Analysis
BankBlackwell is the latest of a string of Internet-oriented banks using affinity marketing techniques. The two most prolific are: National Interbank which runs a number of banks for professional membership organizations such as the American Medical Association and The Bancorp Bank which has private-labeled banks for 40 organizations.

Affinity marketing is a proven strategy in the financial services arena, enjoying great success during the past 15 in the credit card market. We think there's a great future in affinity-based online banking. As consumers grow more confident of web-based financial entities, they will be more than happy to take a few moments to set up an account and transfer a few grand into a higher-yield situation.

-- JB

If you'd like to learn more about the future of online banking, check out the Online Banking & Bill Pay Forecast: Current, future and historical usage: 1994 to 2016 from our sister publication, The Online Banking Report.