How ‘rogue’ teen Steve Weston founded $240 million digital bank Volt
Steve Weston admits he was never a great student who “wasn’t destined for much” until a chance encounter landed him a dream job.
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As students across the country sweat over their university ranking scores, the humble and serendipitous rise of Steve Weston is timely.
The co-founder and chief executive of startup digital bank Volt admits he was a “rogue” teen in the North Queensland coastal town of Bowen who “wasn’t destined for much”.
That was until his teachers told him at 13 to write down his preferences for the year’s mandatory work experience.
“My second choice was a bank, not because I ever had any ambitions of becoming a banker but Bowen was hot and I knew banks were airconditioned,” he told news.com.au.
“So I put my hat in the ring and ended up doing a week at the Commonwealth Bank and it was the only time I can remember getting any positive feedback from adults in authority.”
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The young boy was credited by the branch as a hard worker and encouraged to do a welcome entrance exam, which was the industry pathway at that time.
“One day at the ripe old age of 15, I got a phone call at school from the Commonwealth Bank offering me a job and that was my last day of school,” he said.
“I left home shortly after.”
Mr Weston’s humble beginnings have served him well through a distinguished banking career, which included a stint with England’s major lender Barclays.
Coming from the “other side of the tracks” has allowed him to respect and support the customer, he says.
Volt, which has a market valuation of $240 million, is currently in the testing phase with an ongoing savings interest rate of 2.15 per cent being rolled out to a waitlist of 40,000 customers.
Mr Weston says it will launch the product to the public in February and offer home loans in the second half of 2020, hoping to shake up an industry the chief executive says has lost its way.
Without the expenses of servicing walk-in bank branches and call centres, the online operation is able to pass on competitive rates for its customers.
“What I find troubling is banks saying they are putting customers at the heart of what they do but that isn’t reflected in actual practice,” Mr Weston said.
“As an example, banks should say what percentage of their savings account customers get the higher advertised interest rates on rather than the often very low base rates.
“The same applies to home loan interest rates. Why is it that new customers get a better deal than loyal customers?
“Banking needs to be done in a better way.”
The scandals exposed during the royal commission into the financial sector as well as recent embarrassments have eroded the public’s trust in the major lenders and created a pathway for Australians to look for something different, Mr Weston said.
“You had four banks representing 80 per cent of the market share — it’s an oligopoly,” he told news.com.au. “It’s the most profitable banking market in the world and then you see these scandals coming in.
“Eventually the community, typically led by politicians, say enough is enough. Banking needs to be done in a better way.
“We’ve seen in other markets overseas that it’s been digital disrupters that have really brought something better.”
And to those who are reluctant to trust a digital bank?
“Absolutely understandable,” Mr Weston said. “We have the same $250,000 per customer financial claims scheme guarantee which is backed by the Australian Government, the same as the major banks.”
Would you give a digital bank such as Volt a go? Get in touch | @James_P_Hall | james.hall1@news.com.au
Originally published as How ‘rogue’ teen Steve Weston founded $240 million digital bank Volt