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Research Outline

Prepared for nigel | Delivered October 22, 2019

Value of Face to Face Banking

Goals

To understand customer expectations and opinions of human interaction in the banking sector, specifically in the Canada and North American market.

Early Findings

  • According to an Accenture Financial Services study of 5,000 North American and Canadian banking consumers, 50% want banks to offer a blend of physical branches with digital technology. Over 60% favor face to face interaction with their bank.
  • A Mintel survey of Canadian bank customers found that while 54% of respondents like to receive their account information online, 72% prefer to visit a bank for complex products and 62% prefer to visit the branch to resolve banking issues.
  • The same study found that 35% of respondents do not believe that a digital only bank could meet all of their needs.
  •  Sanjay Sharma, senior financial services analyst at Mintel, stated that since "branches are the best place to cement long-term customer relationships", banks of the future may see a shift toward becoming more advice-centered rather than transactional.
  • According to the Canadian Bankers Association, 67% of Canadians visited a banking branch in the last year, however, only 12% say it is their most common form of banking.
  • While the CBA believes that physical branches will remain important in the banking sector, the rise of mobile and digital banking will transform physical branches into advice and information centers with a human element.