While banks continue to invest in their digital capabilities, most consumers are not ready to fully commit to a digital bank with no physical presence.

A survey by research company UserTesting found that just 12% of consumers say they would use a fully digital bank. The survey included 3,800 bank consumers from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

While 12% of respondents said they are ready for a fully digital banking experience, 83% said they still prefer a traditional banking experience, according to the survey.

One concern with going fully digital is a lack of trust, Dana Bishop, vice president of experience research at UserTesting, told Bank Automation News. For example, banking customers are still looking for human intervention to resolve bank issues rather than relying on automated messaging.

In fact, 33% of U.S. respondents said they trust traditional banks more than digital banks, according to the report.

“When something goes wrong, we want to pick up the phone, talk to a real person and make sure that it gets resolved, like a fraud situation,” she said. “Coming out of the pandemic, that is driving that desire for more human contact. It’d be interesting to see next year and going forward, if that trend continues or whether that’s sort of a reaction.”

The survey also found:

• 67% of U.S. respondents said they trust digital wallets and mobile banking apps; and
• 51% of Americans prefer banking services with traditional banks.

Likewise, Accenture’s recent Global Banking Consumer Study also found that impersonal interactions are a deterrent to digital banking. “This makes it difficult for banks to give meaningful advice and to sell complex banking productivity,” according to the report.

The study is based on an online survey of 49,000 global consumers. The Accenture report found:

• Around 44% of consumers between 18 and 44 reported having a difficult time getting human support when needed;
• 63% of consumers use their mobile banking logins just to check their account balance; and
• 67% of consumers still like seeing a physical branch in their neighborhood.

Improving digital adoption rates

To improve digital adoption, financial institutions should begin prioritizing customer experience digitalization, Bishop said.

For example, respondents noted some benefits of digital banking experiences:

• 20% of global respondents said that instant transfers were the best feature of virtual banking; and
• 17% said that customer support within mobile apps was a benefit of mobile and online banking.

“A focus on the customer experience and customers’ needs is a really important pivot point,” Bishop said. “Those [banks] who were putting more effort into talking to customers, understanding the wants and needs of their customers, are really reaping the benefits of that in terms of delivering both that personal human touch, but also a really good digital experience.”