75% of Britons believe bank branches will still exist in 2025

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Although the majority of British people believe that bank branches can continue to be an important part of the payment all the way through to 2025, the desired features of these futuristic bank branches suggest, there is still some way to go.

 

Road to 2025

Three-quarters of Britons believe bank branches will exist in 2025, however nearly half of the respondents (43 per cent) said that queues should be shorter.

Three out of ten said there needs to be access to more experts, whilst over a quarter want a more personalised service.

The rise of mobile and contactless payments have had a profound effect on banks, with many shutting down some of their branches and re-allocating money to focus on digital solutions. However, despite this shifting of priorities, 57 per cent of the 2030 respondents surveyed by cash management experts Glory Global Solutions said they still visit their bank branch once every two to three months or more.

 

Expert advice

Bank branches still appear to be important to younger people with 36 per cent of 18-24-year-olds saying they want more experts available in branches in the future. Over half of 18-24 year olds (51 per cent) say they want their branch to provide a more ad hoc drop-in banking advice service by 2018.

 

Longer hours

For older people, given that most will be in employment and therefore unlikely to visit a branch during working hours, banks’ opening and closing hours appear to be a source of great frustration. Six out of ten 25 to 34-year-olds said that they want their branch to offer longer opening hours by 2018.

 

Branches ‘safer’

Given the relative novelty of digital transactions, banks still carry an air of trustworthiness and security, with 57 per cent of those surveyed saying they still feel that making transactions in branches is safer and more secure than online.

 

Data ‘encouraging’

Paul Adams, CEO of Glory Global Solutions, described the findings of the survey as particularly encouraging for those banks investing in front end technology that improves the customer experience and releases staff to spend more time providing financial advice.

“The challenge for banks is how to respond to customer demands for more face-to-face interaction without significant increases in their cost base. By automating cash transactions at the counter and expanding the range of transactions available to customers through assisted service devices, banks have the opportunity to transform the customer experience without increasing staff costs,” Mr Adams said.

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