Physical bank branches still matter, consumer study reveals

But more than half won’t bank with an institution that doesn’t offer a digital experience.

Rising customer preference for digital and mobile banking may be pushing lenders to amp up their digital offerings, but physical branches aren’t going away anytime soon, according to a study by Adobe.

More than 75% of consumers still believe that physical bank branches matter whilst at least 70% have visited a physical branch at least once in the past month.

And although more than half of the respondents said that most of their banking is conducted online, 62% called their banks’ digital offerings “average” compared with the rest of their digital lives. Meanwhile, 57% revealed that they have never digitally signed a document with their banks, whilst 41% would like their banks to offer this ability.

But although consumers continue to value physical branches, digital banking emerged as the deciding factor in choosing a bank, with More than half (59%) stating that they would not do business with banks that don’t offer digital or mobile services.

Millennials and Generation Z, in particular, prefer banking via mobile apps and are more likely to not bank with a financial institution that has limited or no online and mobile services. Of these, 44% indicated that they would even like open an account without ever walking into a bank

Despite these generational differences, about 76% cited security and privacy as key considerations when digitally enrolling for a banking service, whilst half (50%) said they worry about the safety of their finances with digital banks