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Unlike its larger rivals, Tangerine does not have a costly branch network to run, instead offering its services online, including no-fee chequing and competitive interest rates.

Aceto said the bank will focus on customers looking for alternatives to traditional banks, to take advantage of a technological revolution that has resulted in a rapid adoption of mobile banking apps and far fewer customers using branches.

“I think we are on the edge of a tipping point where we will see millions and millions of Canadians choosing a model like this. We think today there are somewhere between 10 and 12 million Canadians we call ‘direct ready’ — consumers who would be willing to buy one or more products from a bank they would never meet — and we think we should get significant market share in that growing category,” he said.

Aceto identified three key growth areas — credit cards, wealth management and chequing accounts. The bank now provides around half a million chequing accounts, a product seen as a key conduit from which banks can cross-sell other products.

Aceto said wealth management is the area most ripe for change, with challengers posed to undercut established providers on fees and deliver services to a currently underserved mass market.

“I see wealth as something that is the most prime for disruption. I think that’s the place where Canadians get the least and pay the most,” he said. Tangerine provides mutual funds to about 100,000 customers.

© Thomson Reuters 2016