The Importance of Trust

Digital is hard. Digital is remote. Money matters and financial matters are not trivial. Are banks sure, therefore, that widespread branch closures are wise?

We often read statistics about how many people use online and mobile banking. Statista says that by 2022, 65.3% of Americans will use digital banking. But does that mean they registered online, downloaded and app or used the service? Those aren’t the same thing.

The figures for mobile banking can sound dramatic; for example, Finder says 27% of British adults have opened an account with a digital-only bank. That means 73% have not, and we don’t know how many of those people are using those accounts.

As discussed in the May edition of Cash & Payment News™ there is US research from CivicScience that says the primary decider on whether to open a new primary bank account is the closeness of the branch to their home. It appears that trust needs something tangible for people to relate to, the sense that, if necessary, they can reach out in person and address whatever the problem is. As financial commentator Chris Skinner puts it, ‘it’s a balance between humanity and relationships, and digitality and transactions. There’s the rub. It’s not one or the other. It’s both.’

The YouGov Global Banking and Financial Report 2021 included questions on fraud and financial risk. It found that the UK and USA were the most risk averse countries but that, despite that, 45% of Americans and 35% of Britons had been a victim of fraud or a scam.

Lack of awareness of the type of fraud and scam that can happen and being gullible and wanting to believe the best in people were the top reasons given for falling victim. Americans tended to believe technical failings explained fraud more than Britons. Again, trust is close to the top of the list, although in this case unhelpfully.