The banking industry is going through an unprecedented change at the moment, with technology at the forefront. Previous Forsyth Group blogs have detailed the Fintech explosion in Europe, with the UK, and London in particular at the forefront. A recent infographic by Econsultancy shows the way that consumers have embraced mobile banking, something unimaginable a mere decade ago.
One of the most interesting facts found in the infographic is that 77% of UK bank customers use online or mobile banking at least once a month, and 14.7M mobile banking apps have been downloaded in the UK so far. This marks a massive shift, from the days when you would have to go to the bank in your lunch break just to do simple banking tasks. When there is such a large shift in people’s behaviours, it offers a clear opportunity for the entrepreneurially-minded to take advantage!
In the UK, mobile phone banking transactions in the UK have nearly doubled in a year, with customers of the 5 biggest retail banks downloading more than 12.4M banking apps, and using their mobile phones for 18.6M transactions per week. This firstly shows the convenience that technology has brought to our lives, saving many hours of queuing in physical bank branches and allowing us to manage our finances much more quickly and easily. It also creates a large amount of data, which companies like our client Meniga can use to offer deals and advice around people’s typical spending patterns.
The infographic goes on to talk about the lack of trust in financial institutions felt in the UK, especially since the financial crisis in 2008, when taxpayers money was used to bail out the banks. Some interesting statistics included are that fewer than half of consumers (49%) trust the bank they are currently with, and only 51% saying that their bank makes managing money simple. A higher proportion, 58%, believe that banks do not have their customers’ needs at heart, and 22% say that their bank does not understand their day-to-day financial needs. Whilst these statistics are negative, this provides an opportunity for the banks to regain this trust, and technological advances makes this easier to do.
Suggestions from the infographic give examples of how to do this, such as leveraging data to enhance their product, and using transaction and customer data to offer the right services and products at the right time. This can create more engagement and more personalised services, and keep customers more satisfied with the services they receive. Again this is something that our client Meniga is at the forefront of. Globally, statistics from this infographic suggest, 51% of consumers want their bank to proactively recommend products and services for their financial needs, and this again shows there is a market for this, and great opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs to seize this moment.