Twice as many people would trust a robot to perform heart surgery than open a bank savings account for them, new HSBC research has revealed.

The HSBC ‘Trust in Technology’ report shows that technologies such as fingerprint recognition, voice recognition and robo-advice hold enormous potential for uses from bank security to mobile payments and investment advice, yet millions of people who could benefit do not trust them because they do not understand them well enough.

The study, which included more than 12,000 people in 11 countries, found that 14 per cent would trust a robot to perform heart surgery compared to (7 per cent) that would let a robot open a bank account for them.

Other figures revealed include that four in every five people (80 per cent) believe that technology makes their lives easier but less than half (46 per cent) trust fingerprint recognition to replace their password, despite it being recognised to be at least five times more secure and significantly more convenient than traditional passwords.

Eighty-four per cent of respondents say they would share their personal data with their bank if it meant getting a better service. The data also showed that, people believe their bank offering the protection of their personal data security is as important as the security for their finances (87 per cent).

However, people rely on traditional passwords to confirm their identity (70 per cent) with only a fifth (21 per cent) using fingerprint recognition and just 6 per cent using voice recognition, regardless of the security benefits.

John Flint, global chief executive of retail banking and wealth management at HSBC, said: “Digital technology is rapidly evolving and customers are now able to bank more simply, quickly and in the most secure way possible.

“While people say they place huge value in the security of their personal data, they do not yet understand that adopting new technologies can help them to protect their information. Our research shows many people do not understand new technologies and so are unable to place trust in them.”

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