The UK’s banks are behind Germany and the US in a new report tracking performance against consumer expectations. In a FIS survey of 9,000 customers in nine countries (US, UK, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands and Thailand), banks in the UK ranked bottom in rewarding customers for their business and helping them manage their finances. They’re excelling at innovation and digital access, but failing to deliver on basics like safety, fairness and security. While UK consumers rated large banks much higher overall than those in the US, they also have higher-than-average expectations in terms of being recognised or rewarded for their banking business. This led UK financial institutions to rate much lower for their loyalty programmes.

Worldwide, consumers say financial institutions are performing strongly in terms of digital access and convenience. However, in basic areas such as fair and transparent pricing, they are falling short. Only one in four respondents believes a financial institution meets his or her needs in these basic trust and relationship areas. In addition, the study concludes there is great opportunity for banks to win consumer support by packaging rewards programs with personalised, customised banking products to meet customer needs. Financial institutions can also forge deeper relationships via the digital experience by fully leveraging online, mobile and social platforms to integrate with consumers’ lives through insight-driven alerts, advisory services, planning tools and more.

“New providers and non-traditional financial institutions continue to make inroads, particularly amongst younger generations, who studies show will soon make up the majority of bank revenues,” says Jonathan Davis, managing director at FIS. “With these challengers poised to grab customers, financial institutions have the opportunity to lead with their strengths and re-define advisory services. Consumers value the banking relationship and banks have a significant opportunity to be viewed as more than a vehicle for transactional convenience, but rather a true focal point of consumers’ financial lives.”

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