Brits Want Faster And Better Payment Methods

Banking consumers in the U.K. feel the need … the need for speed (in payments).

So strong is this desire, in fact, that 45 percent of account holders in the country would switch to a different bank if it meant they could make faster payments.

This was among the findings released yesterday (July 20) in a survey from YouGov and ACI Worldwide. The survey additionally bore out such details as: U.K. consumers view fast and convenient payment methods as a major differentiator when selecting a bank account; millennials are the fastest adopters of new services such as mobile banking; and contactless payment and third-party payment providers and payment delays are the third greatest irritant (behind ATM withdrawal fees and credit and debit card fees) for U.K. banking consumers.

“Our research shows that today’s consumers want fast and easy payment methods,” Barry Kislingbury, lead solutions consultant at ACI Worldwide, commented in a press release on the survey results. “Speed is very important to them as is convenience. Many big retail banks are missing a trick. Today’s consumers, especially young ones, are financially and digitally savvy. Banks have a real opportunity to stand out by offering faster payments and other innovations that today’s consumers covet.”

As ACI notes in the release, the U.K. is one of the leading countries in the the adoption of faster payments. Ten banks are currently participating in the U.K. Faster Payment scheme — which allows for a direct payment between two account holders to take 15 seconds to complete — with regulation efforts underway in the process of opening the system to more banks and other financial institutions.

Even with the 15 seconds achieved under the Faster Payment scheme, the YouGov/ACI survey showed a disparity among consumers regarding the specific expectations of speed in a faster payment: 23 percent of respondents expect an electronic transfer to finalize instantly, while another 23 percent say up to three hours. Eight percent of respondents stated that they would expect electronic payments to take between two to three days to complete.

“This clearly shows there is a need for greater transparency regarding the service levels being offered by banks,” adds Kislingbury, “so that consumers can make informed decisions and select the right current accounts and banking providers to meet their needs. Banks that offer electronic payments in seconds or minutes would seem to have an important differentiator that they are not fully exploiting today.”

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To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.

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