UK Consumers Say Bank AI Is Moving Faster Than Trust
The FIS survey of 2,000 UK adults found that over a third of consumers believe banks and financial services companies are innovating too quickly. This perception is emerging even as AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday banking processes, from fraud detection to transaction monitoring. The data indicates that while institutions push ahead with deployment, many customers remain uneasy about how these technologies are being introduced.
Trust in generative AI remains particularly fragile. One-third of respondents said they have no trust at all in GenAI, virtually unchanged from the previous year, while a further 21% reported having only “a little trust.” Perhaps most striking, half of UK consumers now say generative AI makes them anxious, highlighting a growing emotional barrier that banks must address if AI-led services are to gain widespread acceptance.
Early Adopters See Value While Others Focus on Risk
FIS’s research identifies four distinct consumer groups based on technology adoption speed, revealing sharp contrasts in awareness and perception. Early adopters, who make up 13% of consumers, are the most confident, with strong awareness of AI and a majority reporting tangible improvements in their banking experience. In contrast, late adopters and laggards remain hesitant, with significantly lower awareness and confidence in AI’s benefits.
This divergence is reflected in how different groups perceive risk. Concerns about fraud, data privacy, lack of human oversight, and transparency rise steadily among later adopters. While fewer than 30% of early adopters worry about fraud or data misuse, those figures climb above 50% among late adopters and laggards. The findings suggest familiarity plays a critical role in shaping trust, with experience reducing fear and uncertainty.
At the same time, many consumers underestimate how extensively AI already supports their banking activities. While most respondents are aware of AI chatbots, fewer than half say they use them. Meanwhile, AI quietly powers security and compliance systems behind the scenes. FIS notes this invisibility may be a missed opportunity, as banks could use these everyday benefits to build understanding and confidence rather than allowing anxiety to fill the knowledge gap.
Takeaway: FIS research shows that banks risk losing consumer trust if AI innovation outpaces education, with familiarity and transparency emerging as key drivers of confidence.
Why Education Is Becoming as Important as Innovation
While scepticism persists, the research also reveals where consumers see clear value in AI. Fraud detection and prevention rank as the most positively viewed use case, followed by identity verification and faster customer service. These findings suggest that consumers are more comfortable with AI when it enhances security and convenience, rather than when it operates in opaque or highly autonomous ways.
Kanv Pandit, Head of International Markets – Banking and Payments at FIS, said the challenge for banks is no longer purely technical. “There’s a clear gap between curiosity and confidence in AI and emerging technologies in the UK,” he said. “AI is already embedded in proven use cases such as fraud detection, faster payments, and personalised recommendations, helping make banking faster and more convenient, but if customers don’t understand how it works or how it helps them, trust will never follow.”
Pandit added that education must become a core part of every AI rollout, not an afterthought. He argued that banks should accompany new technology launches with clear, plain-English explanations of how AI protects customer data and money. As AI adoption accelerates across financial services, the research suggests that the institutions most likely to succeed will not be those that deploy fastest, but those that take the time to build understanding, reassurance, and long-term trust with their customers.