UK consumers remain cautious about sharing personal data with their banks, at the same time as demanding more innovative financial services from them.

That is according to a new survey of more than 1,000 UK adults, which found that nearly half (47 per cent) who had personal bank accounts would only feel comfortable with banks collecting the bare minimum of data required to run their accounts.

But at the same time, 91 per cent of respondents agreed that banking services should be “innovative and modern”, revealing a disconnect between consumers’ lack of trust in sharing data and their desire for more advanced services from their banks.

The research, conducted by NCR Corporation, found that half of the respondents were interested in banking loyalty programmes in partnership with retailers, which would require third-party data sharing. A further 46 per cent were open to financial advice services that keep track of their spending in order to help them save money, while 39 per cent would consider using a service prompting them when an important personal event, such as a birthday or an anniversary, is approaching.

The survey also showed that security remains a key trust factor between the consumer and their bank. More than half of those canvassed would be interested in using biometric authentication methods like fingerprint, iris or voice authentication. For 52 per cent of these respondents, the primary appeal is that they feel it would make banking more secure.

However, the interfaces used to connect these to the banking environment come from third parties. And strikingly, a third of respondents (33 per cent) stated they either currently conduct banking transactions using a digital personal assistant like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, or would like to in future, when the use of digital personal assistants could require hosting customer data on third-party infrastructure.

“As consumers increasingly look beyond traditional banking services, it is important for banks to reassure consumers that their personal data will be protected and safe,” said Joe Gallagher, vice president and general manager of self-service and branch at NCR Corporation. “That consumer data will be used in a way that they are happy with is vital, especially as third-party technology increasingly plays a role in the banking innovations they expect.”

Share Story: