Times have been tough for British banks over the past few years, but as things have begun to settle, the importance of retail banking has been put in the spotlight — so banks needed to start investing in their customer experience.

This is something Barclays recognised. With their innovative approach to banking, finding new ways to meet customer needs was a priority. And what do customers need? Secure, reliable wi-fi at their fingertips.

As a longstanding strategic partner BT have a great relationship with Barclays and we were in a good position to help them bring their plans to life.

We proposed a white label service: wi-fi provided by BT Wi-Fi, branded as BarclaysFreeWifi. The connection setup was kept simple with no form-filling or elaborate logins, all customers had to do was accept the T&Cs. Barclays piloted the service in three high-street branches, before introducing the network in 1,600 branches across the UK — in six months.

One of our BT Wi-Fi project managers devised the game plan: install the full wi-fi service at each branch in a single visit. The team of hardware suppliers, cabling installers and Barclays’ IT department worked together to set up cabling, router, wireless access points and broadband connections in one fell swoop. At the project’s peak more than 25 branches were connected every day.

BarclaysFreeWifi engaged customers immediately — while the project was implemented, wireless session numbers went up by 33% a month for six months straight.

Branch wi-fi put customer service innovation into the hands of employees — literally. Staff were given iPads, enabling them to help customers and demonstrate online apps anywhere in the branch, in a much more personable and engaging way. And wireless innovations continue to be central to Barclays’ customer services plans.

Barclays estimate the BarclaysFreeWifi rollout has put them at least nine months ahead of the market. That advantage means they can develop truly innovative business models based on first-hand experience of an entirely new world.