Our Innovations
We've been innovating for more than 300 years. It's a continuous process and we can claim some important firsts in our history.
Products and services
- 1728
- The Royal Bank of Scotland invents the overdraft when it permits an Edinburgh merchant to take up to £1,000 more out of his account than he has in it, only paying interest on the amount actually borrowed.
- 1811
- RBS constituent Commercial Banking Company of Scotland issues the earliest known personalised cheques.
- 1954
- RBS constituent Commercial Bank of Scotland is the first British bank to offer hire purchase facilities, through an alliance with Scottish Midland Guarantee Trust.
- 1967
- RBS is the first bank to launch a savings stamp scheme, allowing customers to save their money by purchasing special stamps.
- 1972
- RBS is the first British clearing bank to offer a house purchase loan scheme to customers.
- 1974
- RBS constituent Williams & Glyn's Bank is the first British clearing bank to offer free banking for personal customer accounts in credit.
- 1988
- RBS constituent NatWest launches the first all-electronic share dealing service in the UK.
- 1988
- A partnership of three banks, including NatWest and RBS, launches a new debit card: Switch.
- 1993
- Balanced Banking from RBS is the first product to allow customers to set their own trigger points for the automatic moving of money between cheque and savings accounts.
- 1997
- RBS is the first bank in the UK to offer its customers access to any ATM in the country.
- 1998
- The One Account is introduced by RBS as part of a joint venture. The account enables customers to combine savings, borrowing and cheque facilities in a single account.
- 2004
- RBS is the first major UK high street bank to offer mobile phone top-ups through its ATM network.
- 2007
- RBS announces the UK's first public contactless card transaction following a pioneering trial based on wireless technology in 2006.
- 2007
- RBS is the first to launch Emergency Cash across all its ATMs, so customers who have lost their card can still withdraw cash if they need it.
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- How old is the Royal Bank?
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The Royal Bank of Scotland itself was established by royal charter on 31 May 1727. Some of our constituent businesses are even older, dating back as far as the 1580s. You can learn more about them at RBS Heritage On-line.
- Is it true that Scottish banknotes are not legal tender?
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Yes, it is - but Bank of England notes aren't legal tender in Scotland either. Officially, the phrase 'legal tender' means money that a person is obliged to accept if offered it in payment of a debt. Under Scottish law, that does not include banknotes, which are classified as 'legal currency' but not 'legal tender'.
The only historical exception was during the two world wars, when as a temporary measure the government made banknotes legal tender in Scotland, as a way of reinforcing people’s trust in them. This was important in a time of shortages, when the government needed to be sure that people would not hoard gold.
