It just makes perfect sense.

A 21st Century Solution

The history of the private safe deposit box is fascinating and can be traced back to the 1860's and the establishment of the world's first know private safe deposit box company, "The #Safe Deposit Box Company of New York. This specialist #vault published an advertisement in The New York Times on May 1st, 1865, with a promotion that spoke about “five hundred safe boxes of iron each having its own combination lock with renters having complete control of their individual box”.?

Emboldened by the development of the first combination lock by an employee of Linus Yale in 1861 and the fact that banks found it difficult legally to provide services, the number of private safe deposit corporations grew across the US in the late 19th century. Ironically, the preference of the banking sector at the time was to invest in private safe deposit box companies rather than develop their own service. The banks were often pressured to accept responsibility to secure wealthy clients valuables at little of no costs and even the clients were persuaded to rent a safe deposit box in the #bank vault, there was considerable resistance to pay anything other than a nominal fee. It followed that the banks viewed the concept as bringing unnecessary risk providing a service that was unprofitable and incidental to mainstream business. The service was and remains to this day a loss leader.

In the 20th century, improved legislation and an exponential growth in bank networks resulted in the banking sector dominating the safe deposit box business, in large part driven by the demands of an ever more discerning wealthy client base. This all came to a head with the financial crash of 2008 and the consequences of the global banking sector forced to reinvent its entire business model. The migration from physical bricks and mortar" infrastructure to online digital platforms was a tsunami that rolled out across the world, and one of the unintended consequences was the dramatic decline in bank branch safe deposit box networks across the world.

As mentioned, the service was always a loss leader for the banking sector, it required space which was now at a premium, it consumed management time and attention, it carried a reputational risk and all of this for a service that could only be provided to the top 2% of the bank's client base at a loss and in restricted circumstances. Across the world, bank waiting lists grew and the criteria to secure a coveted bank safe deposit box became more and more onerous.

One highly reputable bank advised that the criteria to secure a place on the bank's "waiting list" was to place $1 million on deposit and in those circumstances, you were registered on the banks waiting list with a current expected time of waiting being 3 years.... to rent a small metal box.

Banking Partnership

It is the primary reason Mysafe Global Vaults this month renewed our partnership agreement to provide clients of the largest bank in Africa (by asset and client base) with safe deposit box services. It's our passion, its where we have invested, it's our unconditional commitment to grow our network so we continue to reach clients who seek a solution. It's our future. A win / win where we get to work with one of the most progressive banks in the continent and they get to continue to provide their client base with a 21st century self-storage solution for small items of corporate or personal value.

Supply versus Demand

It's ironic that concurrent with all of this dramatic shift in supply, society emerges into a post covid world ever more mindful of the need to take reasonable precautions to protect all that is precious. We live in a volatile world, every more mindful of the potential for significant upheaval. It's not the rich and the famous (that too) but each and every person in the developed world has come to appreciate the need to be cautious and take steps to protect the things they value most. Nothing remains as it was, and we owe it to ourselves and our families to take all reasonable precautions, no more and no less. Forget what you see in the movies, our largest safe deposit box is 170mm in height, there is no bulk storage capacity of any kind, the safe deposit box today is likely to contain old photos, a family #heirloom, a valuable #watch, #share certificates, title deeds, a dowery, university degrees, personal #jewelry, some spare cash, codes, keys, and /or a combination of all the above.

Strategic Direction

That informs the strategic decision by MySafe Dubai to focus on lifting the humble safe deposit box into the 21st century. Security is a given, traditional private safe deposit box companies across the world provide a great service and so security cannot be the differentiating feature. In much the same way the convenience ATM networks took the ATM out of the banking hall and into the mall and revolutionized the way society manages personal cash, MySafe has also taken the "vault out of the underground bunker" and positioned it in the high street making it convenient, accessible and available to all.

Utilizing the most advanced safe #robotics, a fully automated safe deposit box concept and an option to insure with the largest insurance market in the world, we currently provide services across multiple sites in the #UAE and plan to launch a network of over 30 small community orientated safe deposit box centers across 9 countries in the Middle East #middleeast over the next 30 months. We bring the vault to you and make it relevant, convenient and accessible to all who seek to take reasonable precautions to protect whatever it is that's valuable to you.

You can contact the author at any time on +971 52 110 4761, check out the concept at www.mysafe.ae or email to [email protected]