PODCAST | How the economic crisis is shaping what banks should offer

Sara Costantini, Regional Director for the UK & Ireland, spoke with Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan about the latest findings from our ‘Banking on Banks’ report that includes insights from thousands of European consumers about their attitudes towards their current financial situations and the wider cost of living crisis.

Sara speaks about how Europeans feel about their finances compared to a year ago and reveals which customer demographics are the most willing to share their financial data for better, more personalised financial experiences.

This year, despite some encouraging signs of improvement, consumers are still feeling the squeeze:

• Four in five Europeans still have concerns about their finances over the next 12 months.
• Almost half (46%) of Europeans claimed they cut back on non-essential expenses just to get by.
• One in ten (9%) Europeans have taken on an extra job to help make ends meet (rising to 15% of 18-34 year-olds)
• 12% have been forced to take on extra work, or overtime, at their current job.

Almost half (46%) of Europeans claimed they cut back on non-essential expenses to get by, while younger consumers aged 18-34 said they were far more likely to connect third party apps to their banking services to help manage finances.

In a world where so much of our lives can now be managed conveniently through our phones, millennials and Gen-Zer’s now expect the same from their banks. In Britain particularly, this in part is being spurred on by the UK’s position as a noted fintech hub, with it continually ranked as one of the most fintech-friendly countries in the world.