Mint is a new brand from the Royal Bank of Scotland and has made an immediate impact on the UK credit card market. It was launched in 2004 with an innovative marketing campaign, which coupled with a unique card design and some very attractive offers, meant that Mint was quickly established as a leading player. After the Royal Bank of Scotland took over the National Westminster Bank in 2000, it soon became the second largest bank in Europe. Keen to get new brands in the market after the Natwest had been taken over, the bank began the Mint brand.
The Mint card comes in four flavours. The Mint Classic card, Gold card, the Platinum card and the mc2 Mastercard with its new design. The new design is what distinguishes the Mint brand from its competitors. The UK credit card market has become so competitive that companies are looking for new and innovative ways to stand out. Hence the new Mint design basically is the same as the normal credit card but with one major difference – one of the corners has been rounded. I believe it is the first card to do this in the UK and it does give the Mint card a certain presence and certainly given the company excellent brand awareness.
However, there are some machines that do not like the new card design, although this is improving all the time.
All in all the Royal Bank of Scotland have done a great job in both creating a new innovative and competitive brand and placing the brand at the forefront of the credit card space in the UK.