If it is not possible to complete all the actions online to open a new bank account, only 45 per cent of people will carry out the necessary offline actions as soon as possible - while 24 per cent would try another provider and eight per cent would give up opening the account altogether.

This is according to new research from FICO, which surveyed 4,500 globally at the start of this year, finding that 17 per cent would eventually complete the application with the extra steps required – but the question is whether that would actually ever happen.

The research also revealed that it's not the Millennials, but Generation X (35 to 44 year-olds) who are leading the charge in digital account opening, with 89 per cent of them stating they would open a bank account online, followed by 82 per cent those aged over 55.

Perhaps surprisingly, 18 to 24 year-olds were the least likely to open a bank account online, at 79 per cent, which FICO suggested may reflect their lack of financial confidence rather than any reticence to engage digitally.

When opening bank accounts digitally people expect to carry out related activity in-channel - if necessary by scanning documents or providing a selfie - with 77 per cent stating they should be able to prove their identity in this way and 73 per cent expecting to prove where they live without moving offline. Almost half - 46 per cent - also expected to be able to set up a biometric, such as fingerprint scan at account opening.

Again, it was those that largely fall into the Millennial category who were the least keen to scan identity documents or provide selfies to complete their application. Only 53 per cent would do this to prove where they live, compared to 80 per cent of 35 to 44 year-olds.

Sarah Rutherford, solution marketing director at FICO, said: “Digital account opening has become the norm even without the acceleration in online adoption prompted by COVID-19 - the challenge for banks and lenders is to make the experience entirely digital – and to address any uncertainty or lack of trust amongst some groups.

“In the current climate this is crucial because branch visits are actively being discouraged," she continued, adding: "But it’s crucial for the longer-term too, as the changing behaviours brought on by COVID-19 will only increase consumer demand for online and frictionless, interactions."

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