The Deloitte study “Building Trust in Digital Banking” analyses how banks can strengthen consumer trust in their digital offerings and drive growth. The results show that personal contact still plays an important role, especially for more complex financial products. Although online banking is convenient and cost-effective, 68% of German bank customers prefer personalised advice. The challenge for banks is to balance the advantages of digital banking with customers’ need for personal interaction and trust.
Younger generations tend to be more open to digital services, but there is still generally great potential to increase trust in online banking. The study identifies several possible courses of action for banks:
- Strengthening the brand: An established brand and a long company history have a trust-building effect, especially when combined with transparent communication.
- Transparency: Open communication and easy-to-understand information about products and features create trust, especially for complex financial products.
- Security: The fear of data misuse and cyberattacks must be actively addressed. Passwords are perceived as a more trustworthy security mechanism than biometric data.
- Customer focus: Goodwill in the event of problems and transparent communication strengthen trust and show customers that their needs are taken seriously.
The product category influences trust: For simpler products, such as credit cards, customers are more willing to take out a loan online, while more complex products, such as property loans, are still often taken out in branch. This trend is also evident with potential new contracts: while many customers would still open their current accounts in branch, the willingness to take out other products online has increased.
Knowledge promotes trust: Consumers with a good understanding about banking products are more confident in their decision-making and more willing to take out products online. Banks should therefore invest in education and the provision of information.
Trust as a growth driver: The study emphasises that trust not only increases customer loyalty, but is also an important factor for the growth of digital business. Almost a quarter of consumers would even be willing to pay higher fees for greater trust.
Read the study to find out how trust can be anchored in your business strategy and which target groups particularly benefit from it.
