One of the most ambitious new bank launches of recent years was the opening of BankMobile in the United States in January this year. This is a retail bank that promises no fees, offers high interest rates, is "mobile first" and provides every customer with single point of contact.BankMobile is owned by Customers Bancorp, which also owns the business bank Customers Bank, which has been operating for the past six years.Customers Bancorp chairman and chief executive Jay Sidhu was in Sydney this week to speak at an RFi conference, where he said BankMobile was targeting the acquisition of 250,000 customers over the next five years.Sidhu said retail banks have traditionally targeted the most affluent customers because they were the most profitable.However, he believes that new banking technology has opened the way for new business models. BankMobile is targeting young people, middle income families, and consumers with limited access to banking services. These are not the most desirable demographics but Sidhu said the bank would make a 20 per cent return on equity out of transaction (interchange) fees and by establishing partnerships with payment providers and lenders to offer a range of niche services.In addition to no fees and "mobile first", BankMobile's customer proposition includes free access to ATMs and a promise that deposit rates will always be a minimum of 25 basis points above the average rate of a group of large banks.Sidhu said the single point of contact meant that every customer had a "personal banker".To pay a bill customers take a photo of the invoice and send it to the bank. Cheques are deposited in a similar way.Sidhu said the bank was very active in pursuing partnerships with groups like Lending Club. Partnerships provide additional revenue streams and keep development costs low. Sidhu said Customers Bancorp had spent only about US$30 million on capital expenditure for BankMobile so far.