Britain is one of the most sceptical countries in the world when it comes to using online-only banks, according to new research.
63 percent of Britons are unlikely to use mobile-only banks, despite their increasing prominence on the market. These so-called “challenger banks”, including start-ups such as Atom and Fidor Bank, have taken off in recent years and have no branches – customers manage their money entirely from a smartphone app or website. However, despite the popularity of online banking, it appears Britons remain sceptical – only four countries are less likely than Britons to use these types of banks, according to a global study of 63 countries by Nielsen.
Britain was beaten to the top by France, where 68 percent of people surveyed said they were unlikely to use a mobile-only bank, Hungary and Belgium with 66 percent and New Zealand at 65 percent. India was the most open to using mobile-only banks, with 46 percent of people saying that they are highly likely to try them.
However, according to Nielsen Europe’s financial services leader Stuart Tagg, the 10 percent of the British population who said they were likely to use mobile-only banks equates to a potential customer base of around 4.6 million British adults.
“The reality is that mobile-only banking is most likely to take off in developing countries where the majority of the population don’t have bank accounts or easy access to physical branches,” said Tagg.
“However, there’s still a good opportunity in Britain, particularly if banks can overcome the general unease about sharing financial information digitally by convincing people that mobile banking is as secure as going into a branch. It’s then that the sheer convenience of mobile banking could make many reconsider.”