Bank Customers Nervous About Growing Use of AI

Banks and other financial service providers are increasingly implementing AI across their platforms, but new research shows this progress may be out of step with their customers’ preferences.

Generative AI (GenAI) could increase the efficiency of banks, but 71% of customers say the technology makes them feel anxious, according to a survey by FIS, a financial software provider.

GenAI is designed to create new content, including text, images and code, based on provided input or prompts.

While 58% of consumers said they would be “comfortable” with their bank using GenAI, they have clear ideas about what would make them more relaxed about interacting with the technology.

Most respondents prioritized data transparency to increase trust its use, with 86% mentioning the need for transparency relating to how GenAI accesses and uses their private data.

Other factors that would increase trust in GenAI were the inclusion of human oversight for the technology (85%), increased government regulation and legislation (82%) and the reputation of the brand offering the technology (79%).

Nearly half of the respondents were worried about the potential biases of GenAI, with 48% concerned about gender biases and 49% concerned about racial biases.

Over half of those surveyed (54%) were concerned about age bias when it comes to the accuracy and fairness of financial services.

Nasser Khodri, capital markets president at FIS, said: “Past the initial delight people experience from AI-generated content, we do see high levels consternation among consumers. Transparency, human oversight, and regulation are going to be critical to bridging the GenAI trust gap, which is necessary for any significant adoption of these technologies by financial services providers. 

“Some of this comes to the newness of GenAI, but the organizations interested in deploying AI-powered services and solutions will need to be proactive communicators to assure their consumers of its security and benefits.”