YouGov and TrueLayer have identified five key trends currently impacting digital wealth management in their latest research.

The joint study surveyed more than 1800 current users of online wealth management services and 1400 consumers who are considering investing.

The top five trends identified in the research were:

1. Instant withdrawals build trust and deposits: Payments influence customer satisfaction but the ability to make instant withdrawals also drives higher deposits. Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of current and prospective investors are more likely to trust a provider that offers instant payments. While almost half of current investors (46 per cent) said they were likely to switch providers for instant withdrawals. Further, 37 per cent of current investors would also consider depositing more money if they could withdraw instantly.

2. Slow deposits cost customers money and damage your brand: A quarter of current investors have missed out on an investment opportunity because funds didn’t appear in their accounts quickly enough. This rises to 29 per cent in Italy and 38 per cent in France.

3. Investors are comfortable with instant bank transfer: Despite being a newer payment option which isn’t yet universally available, the research shows that – thanks to compelling simplicity and the trust we already have in our banks – across the continent, consumers are overwhelmingly comfortable with instant bank transfers. 83 per cent of all investors across Europe feel comfortable using instant bank transfers for transactions to their financial services accounts.

4. Onboarding must be fast and trustworthy: onboarding is the most precarious part of the customer relationship, where a service provider has not built up brand equity, but is asking the most in terms of data and effort from their prospective new customer. The research shows that during onboarding, the criticality of speed, simplicity and trust are amplified with 61 per cent of investors saying they would not tolerate a signup process lasting more than ten minutes. Over half of our respondents (56 per cent) are likely to quit a signup process if they are directed outside the app to make their initial deposit, suggesting white-labelling any external payment providers is key.

5. Instant bank verification builds trust: when it comes to onboarding, there is one external provider that a consumer is highly likely to trust: their own bank. Just as customers are suspicious of untrusted third party payment sites, the survey suggests that they are equally positive about platforms which can verify customer credentials directly with their bank. Our research found 70% of respondents would trust a platform that verifies their account directly with their bank.

“The idea of waiting five or more days for a funds transfer is archaic. Customers can now transfer money between their bank accounts with a swipe of an app and increasingly want the same from their savings and investment services providers,” commented George Davis, product lead for Payments at TrueLayer. “We believe that rapid withdrawals will ultimately become the default – because it won’t just be the customer’s expectation, it also makes sound financial sense for service providers.

“We already see progressive institutions, including our clients at Nutmeg, Freetrade, Stake and Trading212, creating clear water between themselves and competitors through a compelling, Open Banking-based, customer experience.”

Charlie Masters, product manager at Nutmeg, said: “In a world where products and services need to be delivered more securely, quickly, and at a lower cost, payment initiation via Open Banking will have a crucial role to play.”

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