British banks hang up on India
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Santander yesterday added its name to a growing list of British firms dumping Indian call centres to bring customer service operations back to the UK.
From this month, all of Santander UK's 1.5 million monthly customer service calls will be answered in this country. Britain's third-largest bank is creating 500 jobs in Glasgow, Leicester and Liverpool to absorb the calls that would have gone to Bangalore and Pune, taking the group's UK contact centre staff to 2,500.
The move is a response to demand, according to Santander UK chief executive Ana Botin, who is struggling to improve the bank's customer service performance after it was rated third worst in the country last year.
Other firms, such as BT and Powergen, have also brought call centres back to the UK.
Experts said many of these companies had made the switch to avoid rising costs: as sterling has fallen, the Indian economy has rocketed, with wages set to rise by 12 per cent this year.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments