AI, Apps, and Advice: What’s Next for Banking

Jim Marous (00:12):

As we pass the midway point of 2025, we're witnessing a fascinating convergence; social media has become the new town square for financial decisions. Mobile apps are overtaking traditional financial channels, and after years of digital self-service, consumers are seeking human financial advice at levels not seen since the financial crisis. Meanwhile, alternative financial options are experienced in unexpected renaissance and artificial intelligence stands at a critical inflection point between promise and practice.

Jim Marous (00:49):

Welcome to today's episode where we're going to be diving deep into the seismic shifts that are reshaping the financial services landscape even in mid-2025 and looking a little bit towards 2026. I'm joined by Luke Allchin, Director of Research at RFI Global, who brings us groundbreaking insights into the latest macro media data tracking over 130 million households.

Jim Marous (01:16):

Luke's research will reveal that 2026 won't just be another year of incremental changes, it will be a year that separates digital natives from digital laggards, and where trust becomes the ultimate currency. So, let's explore what financial institutions need to know to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Jim Marous (01:37):

So, Luke, tell us a little bit about yourself, and also introduce for those people who may not be familiar, what RFI Global really is.

Luke Allchin (01:47):

Thanks Jim and hi everyone. I'm Luke Allchin, I'm Research Director, RFI Global. Been at the company and been working within market research now for over 10 years.

Luke Allchin (01:59):

RFI Global itself is a global market research agency provider. We partner with banks, financial institutions, investment agencies, really trying to help provide the voice of the customer and the research, trying to understand what is the behaviors of consumers and households, what drives their choices, what drives their preferences, and really trying to center around some of the changes in sentiment as well, looking at some of the historical trends and try to look more towards the future as to where we see the market going.

Luke Allchin (02:31):

Over the years, I've had multiple, multiple roles and positions within the RFI Global, some of which have been more global, but more recently, I've been focused on the North America region, both Canada and the U.S., and really excited to be talking a little bit more today about I studied in the U.S. of which represents 130 million U.S. households, but also touch upon some other trends we're seeing more globally as well.

Jim Marous (03:00):

It's interesting to see in the banking world, it used to be that year after year after year, not a whole lot changed. But we're at midway point of 2025 and you wrote an interesting post on LinkedIn, and your research shows that actually, there's so many trends both on the consumer side and the backend at the banking side that have really changed the marketplace even at mid-year point.

Jim Marous (03:23):

So, what consumer trends stand out to you as the most significant in the banking and financial services area, and what has changed from what you maybe thought was going to happen in 2025, and what's going to happen as we go towards 2026?

Luke Allchin (03:38):

Well, I think your introduction was spot on in the sense that we are at an inflection point, I think. The rate at which things are changing in the digital banking space is accelerating. Obviously, I'm sure we'll touch upon AI at some point during today's conversation, like how can you avoid a subject as important as that.

Luke Allchin (03:58):

But I think one of the most, not surprising, but most important trends that we're seeing in the data right now is this general openness of the sentiment towards trying new financial services, new technologies. There are a few factors that may be behind it in terms of what's driving people to become more open, it's possible just the general growth of comfort in digital, digital providers, but I think also there's some cost considerations as well.

Luke Allchin (04:26):

I think right now, not just in the U.S. but globally, a number of households may be struggling a bit financially, there's a lot of new challenges that they face. And as a result, there's this growing openness to sort of shop around, and I think as well looking for those low cost options, which has in turn opened up their mind to try out new providers, new services, new products, new technologies.

Luke Allchin (04:49):

So, I think that's one of the factors there that's going to be driving or helping to drive and accelerate some of the digital transitions that we're beginning to see right now.

Jim Marous (04:59):

It's interesting, the technology that's available, the digital products are being introduced, the options in the marketplace and you referenced in your research, the social media aspect of it really is changing all the dynamics as far as how people shop, what they're shopping for, what their expectations are.

Jim Marous (05:21):

And I think to another point, and you bring it up in your research, the divergence of consumers as to the way they want to access financial services. Yes, there's a lot of people that are going full digital, but there's still a lot of people that go, “You know what, not so fast my friend, I want to go it about a little differently.”

Jim Marous (05:39):

It's interesting, according to your research, social media has jumped from 28% to 44% usage for financial information in just two years. That's an astronomical jump. What's driving this dramatic shift, and how should traditional financial institutions respond to Facebook, YouTube, and even TikTok becoming primary research channels?

Luke Allchin (06:08):

I'd say the trend itself, long term, we have seen data's being quite a steady and consistent growth of consumers beginning to use social media as a way of accessing financial information and product information. But yeah, the spike, the jump you just referenced in terms of going up to 44% is significant, it's really changed in terms of what we've seen the years prior to that.

Luke Allchin (06:33):

In terms of what it means, I think as you mentioned, it's the way in which consumers want to be able to access information is changing. People are more likely now than they have in the past to see the internet has been a good tool for sourcing this information. They're more likely to go online before they'll go into branch to sort of try to access that information and try and self-serve.

Luke Allchin (06:55):

And then in terms of on the flip side as well, you've got influencers: influencers, they sometimes like to call themselves as well, they're the ones who are able to engage with consumers on a different sort of level, on a more personal level than maybe what some of the finance institutions are currently doing on these social media platforms.

Luke Allchin (07:17):

And again, about the social proofing of it as well in terms of recommendations from their peers has also become more and more important in terms of driving considerations and naturally a way in which social media works is that whole sharing of information with your peers.

Luke Allchin (07:34):

So, it's just the right sort of platform in which to be able to not just reach your customers, but then reach their network, which all could be potential future customers as well. I think it's about getting the right sort balance of providing the informative information, but also ensuring there's some sort of level of personality to it as well.

Luke Allchin (07:56):

I think the age of sort of a faceless financial institution is beginning to fade. I think there needs to be a slight step, and step into social media and realize that it's a growing platform. And I think financial institutions need to ensure that they have a voice there.

Luke Allchin (08:15):

Because realistically, why it may not be the only place they're seeking information, in a lot of cases, it's where that decision-making process begins. And if you don't have a voice on social media, then there's a chance you might not be a part of that decision-making process, part of that conversation to even begin with.

Jim Marous (08:33):

And you can't do it just like every other financial institution. It used to be that, okay, we're on Twitter, we're responding to people and they have a question and they have an issue and they want to get into direct communication, communication directly through the channel. It's interesting too because of social media, because of technology, the competitive set has changed.

Jim Marous (08:55):

It used to be your competitor set was pretty much the financial institutions that had branches in your area. Well now, you have the ability to search interest rates across the entire country or across the globe.

Jim Marous (09:06):

You can look at financial services that are offered overseas and start to use those financial services. It really changed the entire data set and competitive set for financial institutions but the opportunities are immense for consumers that really want to dig into what do I want to do next? What do I want to invest in or how do I want my service to be used? And we even question at times now more than ever, is the checking account still the primary financial relationship?

Jim Marous (09:37):

I know with my son, he has never written a check in his life, I don't believe, because he does have a check in his checking account. He uses mobile banking and Venmo and other services, and it may be the credit relationships that are the most important because he'll immediately pay off those credit cards, but the credit relationship is the one he uses as much along with Venmo.

Jim Marous (09:59):

It's interesting because mobile has totally overtaken desktop for banking and is about to do the same for investing. What does that mean for firms that are prioritized in the web first experience in the world of (and I'm going to use investing in the general sense) — but in the way of putting your money away?

Luke Allchin (10:19):

I think the trend that we're seeing is not new, it's been happening steadily over time. In terms of mobile banking overtaking sort of the web-based platform, that initially in our data occurred back in 2020, and really I think it's going to be in 2026 when we see the same happen in that investing space as well.

Luke Allchin (10:41):

But that being said, it's not completely (well, not yet at least) cannibalizing the web-based platform. We are seeing a growing number of consumers using both, but that being said, the proportion of households and consumers in the U.S. who are using the web-based platforms is slowly decreasing.

Luke Allchin (11:00):

Obviously, the rate at which mobile is increasing is greater than the web-based platform's decreasing. But the direction which they're going in is clear. And it might not be 2026, but we were talking in the next sort of 5 or 10 years that it will get to a point where the web-based platforms won't even be served in the majority of consumers in the market. Everyone will be moving more and more towards mobile.

Luke Allchin (11:27):

And there is this growing expectation as well that you should be able to conduct all of your banking tasks via the app. So, yeah, so it's clear in terms of where we're going, it's still got a little bit of way to go before it will solely be app-based. But yeah, the direction that we're moving in is very, very clear. So, consumers want to be going towards apps, and as consumers age and more of these sort of the tech native, Gen Zs and Gen Alphas age and the Gen Alphas become part of the banking population …

Luke Allchin (12:10):

Think about them in terms of some of these younger individuals have never owned a laptop, they don't own a PC, it's all done via the mobile phone. And as the population continues to age and these people, when they're in those different life stages, it's just going to be reinforcing that and driving that forward in terms of that transition towards solely mobile.

Luke Allchin (12:30):

It's no longer going to be a case of juggling the two in terms of doing some things online, some things on mobile. I think in a lot of cases, consumers will prefer to a mobile, but sometimes they only deviate towards the desktop in instances where they are struggling on the mobile app.

Jim Marous (12:49):

It's interesting though, we've had a couple people on the show recently that have made a case for the fact that I can't really tell that much difference between my bank and competitors banks on a mobile app. That basically financial institutions in some weird way have taken what they used to do in the branch, which was not that much differentiation between products and done the same thing with the mobile app, where if you took some of the colors away and you took the logo away, you'd be hard pressed to see any difference between bank A, B, and C with regard to the experience on a mobile app.

Jim Marous (13:26):

As a researcher, what do you see as maybe being the way that financial institutions will be able to differentiate themselves on a mobile platform that maybe is not even being done today?

Luke Allchin (13:40):

Well, I think you're right. In terms of there being in some cases little differentiation between the apps provided by different competitors and different institutions, I think we've got to the stage now where it's a hygiene factor.

Luke Allchin (13:53):

When you join a new bank, there's expectations there that the app will be sufficient, that you'll be able to conduct most of your everyday banking tasks via it with relative ease. I think one of the main things though, in terms of how to differentiate is it comes down to the onboarding and how the account opening begins. Because again, it's all about those first impressions, and that will determine how they may perceive the digital offering of these providers.

Luke Allchin (14:23):

Using an example, here in the UK, you like sort of your Monzo, your Revolut, those neobank, the challenger banks here, they're all mobile first, that's as expected. And I think as a result, a lot of consumers will instinctively perceive their digital offering as being more superior, more sophisticated, because it starts on a mobile. You know that you're better to complete that task via mobile because there's no other channels.

Luke Allchin (14:55):

But another example is, say Barclays here in the UK, I think out of a lot of the other sort of incumbent banks here, Barclays is one of the only ones who are mobile at first in the application onboarding process. Before you can apply for a current account, a checking account here in the UK with Barclays, you first have to download the app, then you basically do the application while doing the digital onboarding.

Luke Allchin (15:22):

Whereas in a lot of the other incumbent banks, you'll be directed to the web browser, you do your application, and then you have to wait a couple of days for your debit card to come through the post. And then in a separate letter, you'll get a little code in which to then do the digital onboarding.

Luke Allchin (15:40):

And before you know it, it's been three or four days until you can access the account, access the debit card, begin using the bank account. Whereas in the likes of Barclays and some of the other sort of neo challenger banks as well, you’re already set up on the app.

Luke Allchin (15:55):

And in some cases, well, they may offer a virtual debit card until your physical one arrives in the post, and you can load it up onto your mobile wallet. And from day one, you're able to now use the account, whereas in some of the traditional forms, in terms of the onboarding is separate to the account opening, it's just causing more delays.

Luke Allchin (16:15):

And I think if you are, especially some of younger consumers who have not yet experienced the offerings or digital offerings from many providers before then, their first impression of that will be, well, this is mobile-first, it makes more digital sense in terms of those providers and what they're offering. And therefore, that would determine how they perceive the complete digital offering, if that sort of makes sense.

Luke Allchin (16:42):

I think it's the first impressions is what's really, really important because in a lot of cases, especially in markets where the rate of consumers switching bank account providers is relatively low, they don't have much to go on. Their experience may be limited to one or two providers. So, it's all about how they are perceiving it without having yet experienced it.

Luke Allchin (17:02):

And I think if they know that you download the app first and everything's done in the app before you've opened the account, then there's just this expectation that well, they're more committed to that mobile app and being mobile first, and I think that's what's really going to be a differentiating factor.

Jim Marous (17:20):

It gets down to friction, it also gets down to the financial institutions that are doing things the way they always did, even when they have a mobile platform. They continue to put all the friction they would've otherwise, we talk about it often.

Jim Marous (17:32):

It's interesting you talk about the challenger banks. Your data shows that 31% of new banking relationships are now with challenger banks. And are we witnessing the beginning of the end of traditional banking or is there a path for incumbents to actually still compete?

Luke Allchin (17:52):

I think it could be the beginning. I think the stats you've pulled out there is based around new account openings. So, people, U.S. households, consumers who’ve opened up a primary bank account in the last 24 months, 31% of those was with one of these digital only challenger banks.

Luke Allchin (18:09):

And again, it hasn't completely shifted the whole market yet, but it shows how strong that trend is and it shows the direction of where the market is going. That why is it that a third of these consumers are going towards these digital only players?

Luke Allchin (18:25):

And again, you've got the likes of Chime, for example, being one of the primary providers there, there aren't too many about. When you think about how many, the sheer number of financial institutions in the U.S., these digital only providers make up a very, very small number in comparison, but why are they able to attract such a large number of these recent account openings, recent switches.

Luke Allchin (18:48):

And again, I think it is just showing that there is a change in preference, and I think there's still a place in the market right now for some of that face-to-face interaction, whether it's in branch or not. But I think, again, there is a growing comfort to try now and conducting these tasks online before then having to go into branch.

Luke Allchin (19:10):

I think during the lockdown periods, the COVID, during 2022, and then early into 2021, what we saw in our data was it was a big shift away from face-to-face, physical interaction because they were off limits. And I remember at a time a number of our clients were asking, “What's going to happen when the branches open up again? These trends will remain.”

Luke Allchin (19:36):

And I think initially what we saw is that once lockdown and restrictions were lifted, consumers did start going back to branch, but only for a short period of time. I think there's a lot of these consumers who had previously, they've always gone to branch to do a certain task and they were quite adamant that they didn't want to change how they've done things, they were quite stubborn in that sense.

Luke Allchin (19:59):

But once they were forced to do it online, and then once they were given options to go back into branch, that's when they had a more of a comparison now and they, I think soon realized that actually, I've now learned how to do it online. I've learned to do it on my mobile, and I do prefer to do it away.

Luke Allchin (20:14):

But yeah, it's a growing company, it's not just being driven by those younger consumers as well. I think older consumers have also had plenty of time now to begin gaining exposure to the digital platforms and become more confident and again look some of these neobanks as well, we're not just talking about banks have been around for a couple years.

Luke Allchin (20:36):

Some of these neobanks have been around for 10 plus years now, so they've had enough time now to be established in the market, and they've become brands that even amongst the older consumers, but just generally in the market, consumers are aware of this bank, they're seeing the advertising and marketing either physically as they walk around in stores or references online, if you're on the underground or the train, but also online.

Luke Allchin (21:06):

The fact that more people are doing and researching online means that whereas in the past it's all about that sort of physical marketing was like a key in terms of driving awareness and consideration, which then played more in favor of some of the bigger institutions that had already had a branch network, an ATM network those logos were seen on the high streets.

Luke Allchin (21:31):

Whereas now because people are going online and they're going on social media, it's leveled a playing field in the sense that you don't need to have this big branch network or this ATM network or physical or adverts in magazines or newspapers to be able to get the exposure, I think this is a result. People have become more familiar, more comfort and as a result become more trusting towards some of these neobanks.

Jim Marous (21:58):

I think what's interesting too is it's not just the new banking relationships. We've done some research, we do it informally and formally, and we find that a lot of traditional financial institutions kind of lull themselves into a false sense of confidence where they're saying, "Well, we haven't really lost that much relationships, we haven't had that big of an attrition."

Jim Marous (22:19):

Well, the reality is or people are opening new accounts without closing their old ones. So, you get the sense that the people haven't left when actually their share of relevance has really changed dramatically in that they're using other organizations that are digital first or digital only alternative financial providers or even let's say a big financial institution while they have maybe a community banking relationship still, that attrition is palatable.

Jim Marous (22:47):

And I think the fact that everything's digital now, you don't have to close your existing accounts, you can just shrink it and you can get into a bad situation of thinking you have X number of relationships when the reality is it's a much smaller proportion because they're not doing the transactions there.

Jim Marous (23:06):

One of the things in your research you showed is that the demand for personal financial advice is the highest since the 2008 financial crisis, which is astounding to me that it's been that long. How should financial institutions scale advice which is more face-to-face while still keeping it personal?

Luke Allchin (23:30):

So, we're likely to talk about it a little bit more as well in a moment but sort of AI I think will be a key part just as well. There is, I don't mean in terms of like robo-advisors or in terms of AI chatbots being the sole provider of these advisory services or offering them their guidance, but I can see it as being a way of offering some sort of hybrid solution where the AI chat bot can be the start of that conversation.

Luke Allchin (24:00):

It can pull together some information, create a bit of a summary so that when you then have that conversation with the advisor, there's already some way in which that information's being provided to the advisor, it's more digestible, it can be a more efficient service being offered in terms of to maximize the value of that conversation and then having with that advisor.

Luke Allchin (24:20):

I think in a lot of cases when it comes to AI, it's not going to be a solely AI driven product or services, it's about introducing in such a way that we will be able to offer a benefit to the existing service. I think that's how I see it's shaping up.

Luke Allchin (24:39):

So again, I think right now, it is not a high level of trust or even understanding to some degree when it comes to AI. So, there still needs a bit of time to try to introduce people to it and then as per the advisory services, I think there is a clearer opportunity there to try to utilize AI and chat bots in part of that conversation.

Luke Allchin (25:02):

Again, it could also be a way in which to try to offer a bit more of a cost-saving or be more competitively priced. Because as I said earlier on consumers and households in the U.S. have become more cost conscious. And right now, they're looking at ways in which to minimize their spending. And so, even though advisory services has gone up, it's in reflections of the challenges they're facing.

Luke Allchin (25:28):

So, they need this advice, they need this guidance, but at the same time, they're also looking to try and find ways of reducing their costs. So, it's possible, I think sort of some hybrid service is really what's going to sort of play out and win at least in the short-term before we may see wider adoption of AI.

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Jim Marous (25:50):

Let's take a short break here and recognize the sponsor of this podcast.

Jim Marous (25:57):

Welcome back to Banking Transformed. It's interesting because you have technology, you have the emergence of AI as we mentioned, and your research show that 84% of households still have concerns about AI and finance, primarily around privacy and accuracy.

Jim Marous (26:16):

Is 2026 too optimistic for mainstream AI adoption beyond basic chat bots where you may have some Agentic AI or use of AI to actually drive personalized financial relationships, or are we at the tipping point right now where it really will come as early as 2026?

Luke Allchin (26:39):

I do think 2026 will be the start of something. As mentioned, I still think that 2026 will be where we see sort of these hybrid services trying to integrate within some of the existing services. I think we still have quite some way to go before we see it become mainstream and seeing a wide adoption of it in the market.

Luke Allchin (27:01):

Our data shows that around a third of consumers, I believe they have a fairly good understanding of what AI is, but there is still a large proportion of consumers who are still a bit unsure, not fully engaged with AI just yet, they may not really see how it will be able to be used in financial services.

Luke Allchin (27:19):

There is openness and interest there in terms of possibly trying some of these solutions, but as I said, the 84% you mentioned in terms of consumers having some sort of form of concern, it's a large number. There's quite a big hurdle I think for institutions to get over before we start seeing consumers ready to adopt some of these solutions and these services. It's all going to come down to trust.

Jim Marous (27:46):

It's going to be interesting too because as consumers start to use AI tools more and more, and they learn a little bit more about how to prompt correctly, how to ask questions about finances using AI — they're probably going to dip their toes in the water a lot more individually on their own to get a sense that okay, I can probably depend on this even being better with my own traditional financial institution.

Jim Marous (28:11):

It'd be interesting to see how those rank overall going along together where we were talking about it before the podcast with my team about as good as AI can get, sometimes that can be scary in and of itself, where it can be sometimes almost too good. And it's going to depend on the consumer overall adoption and utilization of AI for basic things. I'm using it for helping to plan for a vacation and I find it to be extraordinarily helpful in saving me time as opposed to pouring through books on what to do when you're in X, Y or Z location.

Jim Marous (28:51):

But as people get more and more familiar and have more assurance that the answers will come back fairly well, then I think they'll start allowing their financial institutions to use it and provide recommendations. I think it's also going to be interesting to see if financial institutions will trust it enough to provide answers based on it.

Jim Marous (29:13):

What can be done and what financial institutions will do because they're in such a risk avoidance mode as opposed to risk moderation mode, where they don't want any bad answers and that's not realistic.

Jim Marous (29:27):

It's not realistic when you have personal financial relationship managers out there doing it. It's going to be interesting to see how it goes, and I think you are right that I think we're going to see a tipping point in the very near future, it's just a matter of how deep do we get, I think that's going to be interesting.

Jim Marous (29:45):

And you mentioned that trust and transparency is going to be critical for AI. How can banks address that trust and transparency and really address data privacy and decision-making accuracy while still innovating quickly?

Luke Allchin (30:04):

To some extent, I think the point you made about personal use of AI is going to go some way there. I think even if you're unsure about whether or not you want to use AI when it comes to your banking and managing your money (I can understand why some people may be a bit hesitant there), I think their usage in their sort of personal life where it's plan a trip or looking up a recipe, but these sort of things I think it's the starting point.

Luke Allchin (30:29):

If you start beginning to be able to trust the information that's provided there and beginning to understand that actually AI could be, it's reliable, it can be dependent on, I think that then gives away for them to become more open to using it in regards to their finances.

Luke Allchin (30:44):

That being said, in terms of being able to try and ensure transparency and try to reassure customers that the information they're getting from these AI services are going to be accurate, I think it all comes down to making sure that the information behind say the algorithm or the AI decision-making process, it needs to be readily available.

Luke Allchin (31:08):

I think before you can trust something, you need to be able to understand what's going on in the background, I think that's going to be really, really key. And I think what they're going to want to try and avoid is consumers having to go down a bit of rabbit hole to find that information.

Luke Allchin (31:21):

If you’re having to dig around, click on multiple links and you're struggling to find information you're after, that's where I think you can begin to lose a bit of trust among the consumers. They start thinking and wondering, “How is it so hard to find this information? Why is it not as transparent as what it should be? Are they hiding anything from me?”

Luke Allchin (31:39):

But I think just making sure that the information is really available should the consumer start, want to try and be reassured, it's an opportunity base to reassure the consumers that there is limitations. Yes, same with everything but just having it very clear and transparent to consumer so then they can make an informed decision about how and what they would trust the information they're being provided.

Luke Allchin (32:02):

If the information's not available, then you can't put a gauge as to where you would trust the information that's being provided. I think you need to have the information to be your first to be able to make a judgment yourself.

Luke Allchin (32:13):

So, I think that's really what's going to be really key here in terms of just making sure that it's easy accessible and that's clear and easy to understand as well. Using layman terms, don't go into too much depth, but ensure that there's enough information there for consumers to build up and understand as to what's actually going on in the background.

Jim Marous (32:33):

We've just touched the top layer of all the things that are going on and all the things that still can go on this year and beyond. Looking at all the trends that you're looking at, because you're continually seeing it at your organization, you're continually doing research on the consumer and the financial institution industry overall, looking at all the trends that are interrelated in many ways.

Jim Marous (32:57):

Looking at all the trends that you see, some of which we maybe haven't even touched yet in our conversation, what's the single biggest mistake that financial institutions could make in their planning for next year and what's the greatest opportunity that they might miss?

Luke Allchin (33:15):

Maybe starting with the opportunity, I think one of the clearest opportunities from me is about ensuring you have a strong voice on social media. The rate at which that's growing and changing, it's rapid and I think 2026 will be much the same. It's really become a key battleground I think in terms of acquisition, recommendation, NPS, you need to make sure you've got a voice there.

Luke Allchin (33:39):

And being part of those conversations and those early decision making with past appointment in which financial institution can be a faceless organization, I think there's a need for their to have some sort of personality, something that consumers can engage with and interact with on social media.

Luke Allchin (33:58):

Again, I think a really, really good example of this is in the UK you've got like Monzo and you've got the Monzo, I'm thinking about when I'm just on LinkedIn, for example, you have the Monzo account, they're making posts quite informative information, quite professional but then you've got this other account called Greg at Monzo.

Luke Allchin (34:19):

So, who knows this guy might not even be called Greg or the person might not be called Greg, but it's Greg at Monzo. It's like this separate account, which is part of Monzo and it's much more funny, quirky, it still provides some useful information, but it's also some jokes are being thrown there as well.

Luke Allchin (34:35):

And it's sort of become a face of personality within the Monzo's organization and I think you see people interact with that more so than the more core professional Monzo account. But obviously that's where I think we're going to start seeing things going. There needs to be a personality there, something for consumers to engage with and speak with.

Luke Allchin (34:59):

Whereas otherwise, if it remains too formal, the only sort of times you get people to interact with those post is to vent some frustrations or say, “Oh, I've locked out my account, this is how that's happened.” And then you just get a whole load of negative comments in terms of a chance to voice a frustration.

Luke Allchin (35:20):

Whereas if there is that sort of a little bit of playful fun and interaction there as well, there's positive comments there as well, it's building that sort of community and also visibility as well then. The more someone will be engaged with a post, the more it will be pushed out to other consumers, other individuals.

Luke Allchin (35:39):

I think the one thing that shouldn't be overlooked, is the fact that when it comes to apps, it's not all just about delivering more and more functionalities and more features. I think you've got to ensure as well that the core part of that app still works well, and against the whole idea, it fits into your personal to the individual. It's got to feel connected in terms of whichever channel you are interacting via, there's got to be some sort of omni channel experience there, it's got to feel seamless, and I think it's got to feel live as well.

Luke Allchin (36:08):

When you're speaking to someone, you feel like you are being listened to. I think all in all it gives an idea that it's delivering that which feels more relevant to consumer, and the user's having an experience that will align with their needs and the stage at which they're in life, I think that's really, really important to get right.

Luke Allchin (36:27):

It's not just about delivering the latest features or this new innovation, but it's about ensuring that it's building that personal feeling. Because as we move away from some of the physical channels, it's still important that there is that sense there with banking, you still want to build a relationship. So, I think those are the two things I see as being quite important, I think in terms of moving into 2026 in the years to come.

Jim Marous (36:51):

I think it's interesting because the technology, the social media, the way that people buy, the way that people evaluate, the differentiators are moving so fast that I think we're going to see consumers expecting more, the bars are going to be raised higher very quickly because we're seeing it everywhere else.

Jim Marous (37:09):

It it's not just in financial services. The way we do travel, the way we do hospitality, the way we shop for groceries, the way we go out to dinner, the way we order dinner — you know everything we do in our lives now is so interrelated to the technology that's available that we know as a consumer at the most basic level what's possible.

Jim Marous (37:32):

Our children are being brought up in a world that they've never seen anything other than computers and mobile devices. So, while we've been able to sometimes not be as up to date in the financial services world, they're no longer going to give us a pass and say, "Yeah, but that's banking." The reality, banking's going to be expected to do more because people they rely on their financial services to get them over the hump.

Jim Marous (38:00):

The definition of resilience that used to be all around risk and privacy and security, now is much broader. You're only resilient if you can be there for your consumer when they want you, and I think it's important as we look towards 2026 and beyond to be ready for that.

Jim Marous (38:19):

That's why we do this podcast, is that we can continually try to keep people up to date on what's going on out there, what you need to do immediately, what you can pay, maybe take a pass on for a little while. We're doing a mid-year review of the plans and everything we thought was going to happen in 2025 because things have changed since the beginning of 2025.

[Music Playing]

Jim Marous (38:42):

And I think for those of you who listen and you want to hear more about the future retail banking and financial services, be sure to watch my presentation that I did recently in Abu Dhabi where I discussed the future of banking in a world of AI. And also, even go back to Evergreen Podcasts that got into what we were saying even a couple years ago.

Jim Marous (39:05):

Because I think if you look at that, you can see where we were going and where we actually are today, and I think you'll see that there's a big difference between what we thought we'd be doing and what we are, and I think we've advanced beyond a lot of those. Thanks a lot for your time today, Luke. Appreciate it.

Luke Allchin (39:23):

Oh, absolute pleasure. It's been a blast. Thanks for having me.

Jim Marous (39:28):

Thanks for listening to Banking Transformed, the winner of three international awards for podcast excellence. If you enjoy what we're doing, we would really enjoy a positive review. Also, check out my recent articles in The Financial Brand and the research we're doing for the Digital Banking Report.

Jim Marous (39:44):

This has production of Evergreen Podcasts. A special thank you to our senior producer, Leah Haslage; audio engineer, Chris Fafalios, and video producer, Will Pritts.

Jim Marous (39:54):

If you want to hear more about the Debbie platform and how it can boost engagement by rewarding positive credit behavior, check out our previous discussions with the Debbie founders on the Banking Transformed Podcast.