Do we need bank branches? No, not really, because old habits can be difficult to break. But the ongoing pandemic is accelerating a digital transformation that was already in play. Fintechs, or Fintech in general, is a big winner in this transformation as populations shift from queuing up in front of a teller to managing all of their finances on their trusty iPhone.
Recent research by Fintech Nucoro, a firm seeking to help old finance avoid the tech trap of inevitable change, indicates that people who used to visit a bank branch pre-COVID-19, 24% intend to use them less, if at all, once the Coronavirus moves on.
Nucoro said they commissioned the market research company Consumer Intelligence to interview 1,000 across the UK. Interviews were conducted online between 9th and 14th April 2020
But even while a quarter of respondents see a move away from brick and mortar banking, a bit over half (53%) indicate their use of physical banks will not change at all. Oddly, 9% expect to use bank branches even more. Perhaps these respondents are traditional bank employees?
| Of those who use bank branches, how will their use of them change after the Coronavirus lockdown is lifted | Percentage of people who use bank branches |
| Use of bank branches will not change | 53% |
| I will use them a little bit less | 13% |
| I will use them a lot less | 11% |
| I will use them more | 9% |
| Don’t know | 14% |
Nucor states that its survey indicates that 31% expect to make one less visit to their branch per month, with 44% anticipating they will make between two and four fewer visits. Some 17% are unsure to what extent their use of branches will fall.
Nikolai Hack, COO Nucoro, explained that during the Coronavirus they estimate that about 6 million people have downloaded their bank app for the first time:
“As people are staying indoors, more are turning to digital channels to communicate with their banks and many will continue to use these once the lockdown is lifted. If this results in fewer visits to branches over the long-term, more could end up closing. Over the past five years, more than a third of the UK’s bank branches have closed, while a number of those that have survived have reduced their opening hours. Many more could now be at risk of closure because more customers have started to use digital banking more.”
What Nucor did not provide is the age range of individuals more inclined to visit a bank branch those decidedly determined not to waste their time.