What happened: British Saga, which targets consumers aged 50 and above, is negotiating a deal with NatWest Boxed to provide savings accounts and other financial products (Finextra).
My comment: Saga’s main offerings include holidays (e.g., sea cruises), insurance and money-related products. Thus, Saga is not purely a non-financial brand, but it cannot be considered a Fintech company either - maybe something in between. Either way, Saga is unlikely to be the kind of company that would want to get regulated, instead partnering with regulated financial institutions (it already offers products from Goldman Sachs and other banks). It will be interesting to see if NatWest Boxed will be “just one more provider” in Saga’s marketplace offering or perhaps if NatWest Boxed becomes the leading provider for Saga’s financial services. Since Saga’s financial services are mostly savings and investment products, and interest rate will likely matter more than “how well embedded the products are”, I would guess it is the former. The deal is still being negotiated, but when it is signed, Saga could become the second partner announcement from NatWest Boxed, following AA's announcement earlier this year.
