An increase to the amount needed to open an account at Coutts, the UK lender, raises questions about what is the profitable point for banks to set such minimums, where this leaves those who fall beneath this level, and what alternatives are available.

Coutts' move to hike its minimum wealth threshold on new clients to £3 million ($4.05 million) from £1 million highlights how those at the higher reaches of the mass-affluent side, or lower high net worth end, may need different options.

Clients who would otherwise have considered opening an account with the UK bank – which is reputed to have the British monarch as its client – will no longer be able to do so if they are under the £3 million mark, although this news service understands that there is some flexibility around it.

The change was first published back in November 2025. Even so, stories in the media earlier this week prompts reflections on what this means for traditional banking models and those of challenger banks, or “neobanks.”

This is not a specifically UK issue. Speaking to banks in Singapore this week, for example, this publication asked whether the mass-affluent segment continues to be a difficult one for major lenders to serve profitably. So far, the general message was that this is an important area but requires skill in blending mass-customisation with efficiency. According to this commentary, the Asia-Pacific region has a problem. With a 9.6 per cent annual CAGR, the mass-affluent segment has already outpaced its high net worth counterparts. In Asia, this asset pool is predominantly held in cash positions, and over a third of this pool is not receiving any active wealth management portfolios.

Coutts’ change comes at a time when NatWest has recently added wealth management capabilities by the purchase of UK-based Evelyn Partners (as analysed here). 

“Our ambition is to be the UK’s number one chosen partner for private banking and wealth management,” a spokesperson told WealthBriefing when asked about the change. “Last year, we set out a strategy that is focused on supporting clients through the right service model for their needs. We are also working towards completing the acquisition of Evelyn Partners, announced in February, with regulatory approvals expected over the summer.”

The change also demonstrates how, as fiat currencies such as sterling have been debased over the decades, a £1 million figure is not the potent sum it used to be, even though the million-mark is still used as a rough indicator of the base for being a “high net worth individual.”

Changes to Coutts’ minimums also come almost three years after this blue-blooded bank was attacked for “debanking” Nigel Farage leader of the UK party Reform. The CEOs of NatWest and Coutts later resigned.