Bank of the Year Awards

ceri glazier bank of the year
Ceri Glazier

Principal Consultant, Boost

Are you the Best Bank of the Year? 

Okay, so we all know this has been a year like no other – and the ripple effect of COVID-19 is set to cause substantial global economic damage and long-lasting implications for the financial sector. But here at Boost Awards, we are seeing many stories from banks and financial services providers that also tell another, far more positive story.

In retail/consumer banking there has been a renewed focus on building strong relationships with customers, looking after employees and bringing innovation to the fore. With many consumer banks pivoting quickly, introducing new technology, services and customer support to suit a changing consumer landscape, there is a great opportunity for recognition through banking awards and customer service awards.

But it can’t be just ‘any old award’ for such a heavily regulated sector. So, which are credible awards for banking, and how winnable are they?

Boost can help you to plan an awards strategy for your most powerful stories, but for now, here are some pointers on the best awards for banks.

Bank of the Year awards

Starting at the very top of the banking awards list – there are a few very credible ‘Bank of the Year’ awards. Clearly an invaluable message in any sales pitch or marketing communication, saying “we are the best, but don’t just take our word for it” is a great endorsement.

First, although a little way off yet, are the industry favourites, The Banker Awards – Bank of the Year Awards The Banker is a highly credible publication (associated with the Financial Times), and this scheme is definitely one to consider if you are looking for an award with high visibility and industry positioning. Split into defined regions like ‘Western Europe’ and ‘Asia-Pacific’, the deadline is traditionally the end of July and you can look back on 18 months of activity.

Other ‘Bank of the Year’ titles out there are often categories within other wider banking awards schemes. On our free list of financial services awards, we identified 14 international awards schemes carrying this title, such as The International Banker Awards (deadline December). Each region has local schemes too; for example at least six APAC schemes, two MENA and four UK-only schemes have ‘Bank of the Year’ categories.

bank of the year awards

“With many consumer banks pivoting quickly, introducing new technology, services and customer support to suit a changing consumer landscape, there is a great opportunity for recognition through banking awards and customer service awards.”

Regional awards for banking

This neatly brings me on to a growing area: regional banking awards. When I first started writing banking awards 13 years ago, there were only a handful of schemes that were truly international, and even less (credible awards) for specific regions.

Now there are an impressive selection of awards across many regions and specialisms, all of which are gaining momentum. For instance:

Consumer banking awards

A lot of banking awards can cover specific areas of banking, like treasury management, investment or risk, and I will be writing another article on those in the coming weeks. However, consumer banking has a few more general or customer-focused awards on the horizon now, and those are the awards a customer would be reassured by when trying to choose which bank to trust.

Some credible awards for consumer banking coming up soon are:

  • Business Moneyfacts Awards: This UK-only scheme relies on independent research alongside an industry survey rather than a written entry submission, making it a robust process that is hard to influence, although a few categories allow a written entry, and others allow you to offer testimonials. Content needs to be supplied during October and up until the late November deadline.
  • Retail Banker International RBI Global Awards: If your bank is a retail brand, then this highly credible international award (submission deadline of late March) is worth considering. The awards are run by Verdict from the UK with a London event, but they welcome entries from around the world. Notably, winners have come from across the industry and include all the best-known brands. 
  • MoneyAge Awards: These well-known UK-only awards by Perspective Publishing are very credible in the personal finance space due to their association with the MoneyAge publication. As such, the logo can regularly be seen in UK advertisements by banks, particularly the ‘Bank/High Street Bank of the Year’ category. The submission deadline is typically mid-June.

Banking technology awards

This year has forced us to become more virtual in all aspects of our lives – if your focus is digital banking, then alongside the Banker Innovation in Digital Banking Awards (with a May deadline), there is another award you should consider: The Worlds Best Digital Bank Awards run by Global Finance.

This digital bank scheme, with a deadline in early May, has awards for specific countries and regions, and a separate award for Islamic Banks too. In fact, Global Finance runs several popular international award schemes for banking and finance throughout the year; but be warned, the entry forms are very thorough, with lengthy word counts!

Also, it’s worth taking a look at more general financial technology awards, such as the FSTech awards (deadline in January), which has several specific categories for banking technology, or IT and technology awards like the UK IT Industry Awards, which are frequently won by major brands in the banking sector.

digital bank awards

“The pandemic is forcing banks to accelerate their digital transformation plans – launching new, exciting tools and platforms to meet evolving customer demands.”

Best bank for…

Don’t limit your options when looking for bank-specific awards titles. You can gain recognition by playing tactically and going for the ‘best bank’ awards (or similar) in international business awards schemes like Le Fonti Global Awards, The International Business Excellence Awards, The International Business Awards and the US-based Big Awards for Business.

You may find more options if you look for financial service awards categories. This could also present one or two other options to enter at the same time – maybe for your newest HR initiative or CSR activity.

If you do that – the list could go on forever! So, here are just some of my ideas for your awards plan:

For ‘award-winning customer service’ then The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service (an international scheme with mid-January deadline), The Collections and Customer Service Awards (September) and The International Customer Experience Awards (deadline September) all have categories for ‘financial services’.

Next steps?

Hopefully that has given you some food for thought about the many Bank of the Year and Banking awards out there. Here at Boost, we advocate a proactive approach to awards, and recommend you use our awards planning services to create a comprehensive awards strategy, ensuring you pick the right awards for your budget and message to maximise ROI. Over the last 13 years, I have personally helped some of the biggest names in banking and finance win many of these awards, either from scratch or reviewing their own submissions.

I would be happy to give you a call to help you double check your chances of success and explain our pricing options. You can contact Boost via our contact form or email me directly via ceri.glazier@boost-awards.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you win awards.

Ceri.

(C) This article was written by Ceri Glazier and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards

boost awards bank of the year

Bank of the Year Awards

ceri glazier bank of the year
Ceri Glazier

Principal Consultant, Boost

Are you the Best Bank of the Year? 

Okay, so we all know this has been a year like no other – and the ripple effect of COVID-19 is set to cause substantial global economic damage and long-lasting implications for the financial sector. But here at Boost Awards, we are seeing many stories from banks and financial services providers that also tell another, far more positive story.

In retail/consumer banking there has been a renewed focus on building strong relationships with customers, looking after employees and bringing innovation to the fore. With many consumer banks pivoting quickly, introducing new technology, services and customer support to suit a changing consumer landscape, there is a great opportunity for recognition through banking awards and customer service awards.

But it can’t be just ‘any old award’ for such a heavily regulated sector. So, which are credible awards for banking, and how winnable are they?

Boost can help you to plan an awards strategy for your most powerful stories, but for now, here are some pointers on the best awards for banks.

Bank of the Year awards


Starting at the very top of the banking awards list – there are a few very credible ‘Bank of the Year’ awards. Clearly an invaluable message in any sales pitch or marketing communication, saying “we are the best, but don’t just take our word for it” is a great endorsement.

First, although a little way off yet, are the industry favourites, The Banker Awards – Bank of the Year Awards The Banker is a highly credible publication (associated with the Financial Times), and this scheme is definitely one to consider if you are looking for an award with high visibility and industry positioning. Split into defined regions like ‘Western Europe’ and ‘Asia-Pacific’, the deadline is traditionally the end of July and you can look back on 18 months of activity.

Other ‘Bank of the Year’ titles out there are often categories within other wider banking awards schemes. On our free list of financial services awards, we identified 14 international awards schemes carrying this title, such as The International Banker Awards (deadline December). Each region has local schemes too; for example at least six APAC schemes, two MENA and four UK-only schemes have ‘Bank of the Year’ categories.

bank of the year awards

“With many consumer banks pivoting quickly, introducing new technology, services and customer support to suit a changing consumer landscape, there is a great opportunity for recognition through banking awards and customer service awards.”

Regional awards for banking

This neatly brings me on to a growing area: regional banking awards. When I first started writing banking awards 13 years ago, there were only a handful of schemes that were truly international, and even less (credible awards) for specific regions.

Now there are an impressive selection of awards across many regions and specialisms, all of which are gaining momentum. For instance:

Consumer banking awards

A lot of banking awards can cover specific areas of banking, like treasury management, investment or risk, and I will be writing another article on those in the coming weeks. However, consumer banking has a few more general or customer-focused awards on the horizon now, and those are the awards a customer would be reassured by when trying to choose which bank to trust.

Some credible awards for consumer banking coming up soon are:

  • Business Moneyfacts Awards: This UK-only scheme relies on independent research alongside an industry survey rather than a written entry submission, making it a robust process that is hard to influence, although a few categories allow a written entry, and others allow you to offer testimonials. Content needs to be supplied during October and up until the late November deadline.
  • Retail Banker International RBI Global Awards: If your bank is a retail brand, then this highly credible international award (submission deadline of late March) is worth considering. The awards are run by Verdict from the UK with a London event, but they welcome entries from around the world. Notably, winners have come from across the industry and include all the best-known brands. 
  • MoneyAge Awards: These well-known UK-only awards by Perspective Publishing are very credible in the personal finance space due to their association with the MoneyAge publication. As such, the logo can regularly be seen in UK advertisements by banks, particularly the ‘Bank/High Street Bank of the Year’ category. The submission deadline is typically mid-June.

Banking technology awards

This year has forced us to become more virtual in all aspects of our lives – if your focus is digital banking, then alongside The Banker Innovation in Digital Banking Awards (with a May deadline), there is another award you should consider: The Worlds Best Digital Bank Awards run by Global Finance.

This digital bank scheme, with a deadline in early May, has awards for specific countries and regions, and a separate award for Islamic Banks too. In fact, Global Finance runs several popular international award schemes for banking and finance throughout the year; but be warned, the entry forms are very thorough with lengthy word counts!

Also, it’s worth taking a look at more general financial technology awards, such as the FSTech awards (deadline in January), which has several specific categories for banking technology, or IT and technology awards like the UK IT Industry Awards, which are frequently won by major brands in the banking sector.

digital bank awards

“The pandemic is forcing banks to accelerate their digital transformation plans – launching new, exciting tools and platforms to meet evolving customer demands.”

Best bank for…

Don’t limit your options when looking for bank-specific awards titles. You can gain recognition by playing tactically and going for the ‘best bank’ awards (or similar) in international business awards schemes like Le Fonti Global Awards, The International Business Excellence Awards, The International Business Awards and the US-based Big Awards for Business.

You may find more options if you look for financial service awards categories. This could also present one or two other options to enter at the same time – maybe for your newest HR initiative or CSR activity.

If you do that – the list could go on forever! So, here are just some of my ideas for your awards plan:

For ‘award-winning customer service’ then The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service (an international scheme with mid-January deadline), The Collections and Customer Service Awards (September) and The International Customer Experience Awards (deadline September) all have categories for ‘financial services’.

Next steps?

Hopefully that has given you some food for thought about the many Bank of the Year and Banking awards out there. Here at Boost, we advocate a proactive approach to awards, and recommend you use our awards planning services to create a comprehensive awards strategy, ensuring you pick the right awards for your budget and message to maximise ROI. Over the last 13 years, I have personally helped some of the biggest names in banking and finance win many of these awards, either from scratch or reviewing their own submissions.

I would be happy to give you a call to help you double check your chances of success and explain our pricing options. You can contact Boost via our contact form or email me directly via ceri.glazier@boost-awards.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you win awards.

Ceri.

(C) This article was written by Ceri Glazier and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards

boost awards bank of the year

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