The shift towards a digital future has changed the way consumers undertake their banking
The banking sector has undergone immense change over the past decade. The emergence of challenger banks and digital-only banks has spearheaded digital transformation across the entire sector, with traditional banks following in the neobanks’ footsteps by adopting a technology-first approach.
This shift towards a digital future has changed the way consumers undertake their banking. In general they have moved away from face-to-face interactions in branches, now communicating almost entirely with their bank via digital channels, be that an app, website or social media. The sector continues to evolve and is currently in the midst of a complete overhaul of the way in which it supports customers.
For those working in digital transformation, like me, this adoption of modern technology in retail banking makes complete sense. It allows banks to provide better customer service whilst enabling consumers to action their everyday banking needs quicker, often by themselves.
What about the consumers?
But how do consumers feel about their individual bank’s digital offering? This is the question we hope to answer with the GFT Banking Disruption Index. Our quarterly assessment of consumer sentiment towards digital banking will allow us to understand whether customers are embracing their banks’ digital capabilities, or whether more improvements need to be made for consumers to fully adopt a digital-first approach to their banking.
The results from this first report are interesting. It is clear that consumers expect greater levels of digital self-serve capability from their banking provider, often not just from their mobile banking app. However, the challenge for banks will be continuing to navigate the technological literacy of their different customers across varying age ranges.
What was apparent from our research is the vast difference between the adoption of digital banking by those aged between 16 and 34, and the over 55s. The banks and building societies who can narrow this gap and support both the younger and the older generation in embracing digital banking, will be the ones coming out on top.
The rise of the challenger banks
Whilst challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling are now staples of our current banking landscape, they have only really existed in the UK for approximately 10 years. In this time they have focused on providing customers with easy access and the opportunity for greater financial transparency, literacy, and crucially, security.
After making waves in the UK marketplace for more than ten years it is now time to assess their impact and the overall consensus surrounding digital banking in 2022 and beyond.
Trust between consumers and their banking provider has room for improvement. Another crucial aspect of banking, which plays into the overall satisfaction of customers, is how much they trust their bank with their money. Gone are the days where customers were content to have minimal interaction with their bank and following the 2008 banking crisis the relationship and trust between banks has continued to evolve. With the likely recurrence of a recession looming, trust in financial institutions continues to be paramount, especially as banks, digital or otherwise, want to retain their customers.
Read our first report now
GFT’s Banking Disruption Index focuses on several key areas that have always been vital within banking, including: Customer satisfaction, Modernness, Trust, Accessibility and Communication.
Given the current uncertain economic challenge faced by the UK, we felt it was also pertinent to gauge consumer sentiment around the resilience and recession-proof nature of the banks.
Discover our results in full here
