GFT UK urges banks to ‘take customers with them’ on AI ‘journey’
Ellie Duncan | News
05 Sep 2023
GFT UK has called for banks adopting AI to “take their customers on the journey with them”, after its research revealed a lack of understanding among British consumers of the new technology and its uses.
Only 33% of Britons supported the use of AI technology by banks to tackle fraud prevention, followed by 20% who supported its use in helping customers avoid financial difficulty, according to GFT’s latest Banking Disruption Index.
The research showed that 15% want AI to be used to provide personalised advice on a customer’s finances, and 14% in supporting credit decisions, such as mortgages and bank loan approvals.
Digital transformation specialist GFT found British consumers are evenly split between understanding (41%) and not understanding how the technology works (41%).
The Index revealed that 26% of over 55s are confident they know what the technology is, rising to 58% of 25 to 34-year-olds.
The majority of those surveyed, at 61%, said they are happy for their bank to use AI to support them, with 13% “excited” about AI’s potential in banking.
Only 27% of consumers would not want their bank using AI at all.
Richard Kalas, client solutions director, retail banking at GFT UK, said: “There is a huge buzz currently around AI; both its benefits and visions of apocalyptic futures.
“It is important that banks adopting AI take their customers on the journey with them, to demonstrate they are using the technology safely, securely and in the best interest of the customer.”
GFT’s research is part of a wider global survey of 12,000 people across the UK, Germany, Italy, the US, Poland and Japan.
At the start of the year, GFT UK’s Banking Disruption Index revealed that more than half of UK consumers would like their bank to “proactively contact them” if their spending habits indicate they are heading into financial difficulty.
The Index, which is a quarterly assessment of consumer attitudes towards their bank’s digital capabilities, found that consumers would welcome digital tools that might help them manage their money.
