Finance Monthly. Bank i ng & F i nanc i a l Se r v i ce s Personalised nature of financial services has suffered For years, the financial services market has become much more transactional. In a race to the bottom on price, consumers have been more concerned with who doesn’t charge maintenance fees and who has the best interest rate for their cards or rewards system for their policies than who has the most convenient high-street locations or who provides the best service. This has placed an over-emphasis on digital, particularly as generations have grown up so that now, the thought of going to a branch office is seen as an alien concept to younger customers. There is no question that the banking landscape has dramatically changed from one generation to the next. The relentless march to digital continues to see swathes of branch closures and has ushered in the death of ‘speaking to your local bank manager’. According to recent figures from the European Central Bank, the bank branch network is getting thinner by the day with a decline in 25 out of 27 EU Member States. According to a report from last year, at least one bank branch closes every day in Belgium. It has created a dichotomy whereby large swathes of society are now totally reliant on digital financial services - a figure that is only going to increase as digital identity verification becomes more widespread. But at the same time, the narrative to consumers is to ‘protect their data’. As a result, it is creating an environment of mistrust, concern and paranoia, rather than an excitement for what safely sharing data can enable. Humans: The missing link in financial services Our Digital Frontiers research identified that two-thirds (67%) of European consumers don’t know who has access to their personal data and how it’s used – just 12% do with any certainty, while the majority (59%) of the public are increasingly concerned about the security of their online digital footprints and how purchasing data is used, interpreted and shared. Indeed, 41% now feel paranoid that organisations are tracking and recording what they do on devices. At the same time, the near extinction of humans in the financial services sector is creating a void that consumers are not yet prepared to take the leap of faith to cross. Yes, our research uncovered an acceptance that technology can play a vital role in managing our finances - 31% of consumers would trust an app to manage all of their finances if it meant it generated greater returns each month, 39% expect their financial services provider to use technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning to help protect their funds and personal details. However, it also highlighted that a fullydigital banking network is a long way away. Only a third (30%) of consumers would choose a different bank or financial service provider if their existing one expected them to visit a branch in person. Indeed, only 37% agree that in-person interaction in financial services is almost dead. According to our research, almost two-thirds (64%) of consumers expect the financial services 54
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