A new survey by consulting firm Accenture has revealed that roughly one in three banking and insurance consumers would switch to Google, Amazon, or Facebook if they offered these types of services.
The survey also found that among the 32,715 people questioned, a significant number of them would prefer a banking or insurance service that included artificial intelligence technology, something that these companies either have or plan to develop.
Accenture polled people from 18 different countries including Brazil, Indonesia, and Italy, the US, Japan, France, and many others. The consulters conducted the survey from May to June through an online platform.
What the people want is their bank to be like Facebook
The survey showed that if those companies offered services like the ones mentioned above, 31% of the people would switch to them for banking, and 29% would start using their insurance.
Consumers from 18 to 21 years old were, nevertheless, among the less interested, their number reaching only 41%. This result goes to show that many young people around the world still sees value in standard financial institutions.
However, what the study really emphasizes is the people’s need for both more automation and robo-advice and first-class human attention.
Alan McIntyre, Senior Managing Director for Accenture Banking, remarks that people expect their experience to be on par with the digital one they get from GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple) companies.
The future of banking, in numbers
64% of consumers, according to the survey, are interested in personalized insurance, and 63% showed interest in banking advice that caters to their personal situation.
These numbers show why non-traditional providers, the GAFA companies, are enjoying a greater appeal from consumers than in previous years. Almost the same percentage of people also answered that, given the case, they would consider banking with a supermarket or retailer.
Piercarlo Gera, Senior Managing Director for Accenture Financial Services, stated that financial institutions of the near future will have to come up with a “physical” (physical and digital) strategy to keep their consumer appeal.
Emerging economies demand more technology
The survey found that the countries that have the biggest thirst for exceptional customer service platforms are Indonesia (92%), Thailand (90%), Brazil (86%), and Chile (84%). All four are typical examples of an economy pushing for more technological advancement in all areas.
With the advent of tools like online payment, it is possible that the GAFA companies choose to develop some sort of banking or insurance system in the future.
Source: Accenture