New research shows that 70 per cent of consumers expect lenders to provide digital tools for mortgage management.
Especially young adults reckon lenders could do more to digitalise, as 75 per cent of them said digital tools would improve their banking experience, new research from the BIO Agency reveals. The same percentage of the 18-to-34 age group have said they would use video banking, which is a new service Barclays launched nationwide last year.
While those aged 34+ still prefer more traditional banking methods, three quarters of all consumers said that being able to browse online for mortgage information has made the whole process easier.
The most popular mortgage-related tool was a timeline tracker, showing borrowers where they are in the process of taking out a mortgage, with 81 per cent of all in favour of it.
As much as 80 per cent support the launch of an online affordability tool that would link to the house they are planning to buy. The proportion of young adults supporting such an option is even higher – 89 per cent.
Londoners showed the most keen on video banking, with 69 per cent of people in the capital saying they are willing to use it. The number of people ready to replace in-branch services with video banking drops significantly in other regions. Only 36.9 per cent of Yorkshire residents prefer video banking and in the South West that proportion is 32.4 per cent.
Peter Veash, chief executive of the BIO Agency, comments: “Digital transformation has been a major trend in retail banking that has made headlines over the last year. However, attitudes vary towards new developments; trust in new digital services will need to be established through making sure they enhance the customer experience, are uncomplicated to use, and are secure.
“It is also clear from our research that there is still customer demand for in-branch service, so transformation will need to marry innovation online and in-branch – whether on the high-street or through pop-up branches,” he says.
