NEW YORK–A new survey of more than 1,000 Americans confirms what many credit unions are seeing, and that is the increasing willingness of consumers to try to digital tools, including opening accounts online.
The survey, conducted in mid-September by Lightico, “underscores previous findings,” the company said, but most notably in the most recent data also found a huge increase in the number of Americans saying they don’t have to visit a branch to open a new account.
Among the key findings in what the company calls its Consumer Banking Temperature Check - September 2020:
- 76% will avoid bank visits on some level in the future
- 47% would be less likely to tend to a financial task if it required a branch visit
- 91% are willing to try a new app or website
- 94% have banked online in some form over the last three months
- 57% of online interactions, however, were broken and required branch visits
‘Interesting Trends’
"The move to digital as a result of the pandemic isn't news, but we're seeing some interesting trends here,” said Jake Levant, VP-communications at Lightico. “First, the significant uptick in those looking to complete entire processes including signing up and onboarding in a purely digital environment. That means banks and CUs that aren't able to do that could be missing out on business. Second, we still see that almost two-thirds of online interactions still require a branch visit to complete. With the technology today to properly identify and verify the user as well as collect any documents or signatures, those broken journeys are unnecessary and it can very well lead to customers jumping ship.”