PUBLISHED DATE: 2025-08-13 04:20:53

Customer Banking Report 2024

Technology is reshaping the banking industry. This report explores the key trends shaping customer expectations and the future of banking in Australia.

Key Trends in This Report

  1. The Physical and Digital Dichotomy: A Personal Service Challenge
    Customers associate personalised service with physical channels. Banks must develop an omnichannel strategy to reimagine this experience in digital channels, leveraging the power of AI.
  2. The Evolving Role of Branches: A Cash Conundrum
    Customers feel banks are moving to digital offerings at an uncomfortably fast pace. Delivering a future model that supports customers and communities—especially around cash services—while solving for bank economics is crucial.
  3. The New Experience Frontier: Scams and Security
    Customers feel threatened by scams and expect banks to support them financially and emotionally if they become victims. Banks must continue evolving their security and scam prevention capabilities while enhancing customer experiences and awareness.
  4. The Cost-of-Living Crisis: Customer Care Lifecycle
    Customers expect banks to support them during times of financial stress. Banks must invest in proactive, data-driven customer care that elevates the customer experience by identifying warning signs early and offering guidance to get back on track.
  5. The Green Horizon: Meeting Societal Expectations
    The number of customers wanting green banking products is growing, and soon this desire will become an expectation. Banks need to think beyond ‘reporting green’ and start building a strategy for retail customers.

About the Report

Methodology and Research Demographics

Respondents were distributed across Australia, with representation from all regions. Financial status among respondents was as follows: 17% precarious, 40% basic, 33% stable, and 10% comfortable. The gender and age group breakdown included:

Perceptions and the Royal Commission

Respect for the financial services/banking industry is low, with only 13% of respondents expressing respect, compared to higher percentages for healthcare/medicine (56%), education/academia (35%), and other sectors. More than five years after the Royal Commission, most Australians say they have not seen changes in how their banks operate. 22% see things as better, 8% as worse, and 70% as unchanged. Only 12% feel their bank has reformed, while 43% see no changes at all. Banks are seen as secure (50%), responsible (35%), and trustworthy (34%), but also as expensive (37%), unaccountable (23%), and untrustworthy (19%).

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Most Australians have not seen changes in how their banks operate since the Royal Commission.
  2. Banks are seen as secure, but must enhance accountability and trust to retain customers.

The Physical and Digital Dichotomy: A Personal Service Challenge

A majority of Australians expect personalised service from their banks:

Overall, 74% expect personalised service, while 26% do not.

Customers express frustration with reduced personal service, noting, “Less banks, less staff = less service,” and longing for the days when “one person looked after your portfolio.”

AI and Personalisation: A Double-Edged Sword

58% of respondents believe AI and automation will improve their banking experience, while 42% think it will worsen it. Younger age groups are more optimistic:

Customers most want to see personalisation in:

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Omnichannel personalisation is critical as customer behaviours shift to digital channels.
  2. Banks need a strategy leveraging AI to provide greater personalisation cost-effectively.
  3. Governance is crucial to respect privacy, address bias, prevent service deterioration, and align with customer expectations.

The Evolving Role of Branches: A Cash Conundrum

72% of Australians have visited a bank branch in the past 6 months:

Top reasons for branch visits include ATM services (66%), customer service (60%), deposits and withdrawals (60%), loans and credit services (51%), and account management (50%).

Cash remains vital, especially for older generations and those in regional and remote areas. While digital payments are rising, cash is still a critical part of the banking ecosystem. 62% of Australians see some benefits to a cashless society, but 38% see none. In regional and remote areas, 95% see benefits to cash.

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Cash remains vital for many Australians, especially the elderly and those in regional and remote communities.
  2. The transition to digital must not leave vulnerable customers behind.
  3. Education and support are essential to help customers adapt to digital banking, but cash services must remain accessible.

Should banks be allowed to charge a fee for cash services?

Support varies by employment type:

72% would pay nothing for cash services, seeing it as a core service; 24% would pay to use cash; 4% support the elimination of cash. Willingness to pay varies by age, with younger groups more open to paying.

Branch closures are a concern:

In regional/remote areas, only 4% would seek to switch, but 46% would be upset but stay.

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Banks must accelerate digital readiness to keep pace with branch closures and maintain a seamless customer experience.
  2. Customers are open to paying for cash convenience, but digital transaction fees and surcharges may need to be reduced.
  3. Banks need alternative models for cash services to avoid customer dissatisfaction with branch closures.

The New Experience Frontier: Scams and Security

83% of Australians have high confidence in their bank’s fraud prevention measures. However, 55% feel they have been scammed, with the most common types being email scams (25%), fraud or other financial attacks (24%), password theft (14%), identity theft (11%), and mobile number theft (10%).

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. The scale and impact of scams and fraud is significant; more than half of Australians feel they have been scammed.
  2. Banks must invest in scam prevention, detection, customer support, education, and awareness.
  3. Customers expect banks to take responsibility and provide both financial and emotional support if they become victims.

Customer experiences with scam resolution vary:

Banks most commonly blocked or reversed transactions (62%), provided advice (63%), emotional support (50%), replacement cards (41%), and refunds (41%).

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Banks must equip customers with knowledge to safeguard their money and data.
  2. Nearly all customers expect support from banks in the event of a scam. Educating customers on bank responsibilities can help manage expectations.
  3. Experiencing a scam is emotionally charged; customers value both the outcome and the quality of assistance. Banks need to enhance service with personalised support.

The Cost-of-Living Crisis: Customer Care Lifecycle

92% of respondents have experienced financial stress in the past 12 months. By age group:

By financial status:

Main causes of financial stress:

What would have helped most:

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. The process of seeking assistance during financial stress is seen as suboptimal and disjointed. Banks should enhance services to better align with customer expectations.
  2. Banks must use accessible data to proactively identify and support customers experiencing financial stress.
  3. Supporting customers throughout their lifecycle is imperative to mitigate the impact of financial stress and improve outcomes for both customers and banks.

The Green Horizon: Meeting Societal Expectations

40% of respondents would pay more for green banking products, 47% believe it should not cost more, and 13% do not support these initiatives. Younger generations are more willing to pay extra for green products.

Motivations for supporting green banking include:

Key takeaways for banks:

  1. Green products are poised to become industry standard; banks need to build them now to take advantage of shifting customer sentiment.
  2. The green horizon is an opportunity for banks to provide services that directly support customers’ sustainability ambitions.
  3. Younger generations are more discerning about social responsibility; banks must see this as a long-term growth strategy.

Putting This Research Into Action

This research was conducted to help organisations better understand customer behaviours and attitudes. The next step is turning insight into action. To find out more, book a workshop with one of our financial services experts for a deeper dive into the findings and tailored recommendations for your bank.

Publicis Sapient can help you build a strategy for the future, make smart decisions about developing solutions, invest ahead of the curve, and set yourself up for competitive advantage.

Report Contributors

Tales Sian Lopes, Andrew Lam-Po-Tang, Guy Mendelson, Nando Di Santo, Amudha Karuppannan, Jessica Lynch, Grace Cox, Brandon Alata, Florence Tan

Publicis Sapient at a Glance

We are a modern digital transformation partner helping established organisations become digitally enabled to better serve their customers and thrive in the future. As the Digital Business Transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, we offer capabilities in:

For more information, visit publicissapient.com/insights/customer-banking-hub

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