Tech companies could disrupt financial industry

People would gladly take banking services from tech companies such as Google, Amazon or Facebook, a new survey has shown.

According to a new Europe-wide study by Fujitsu, the digital transformation keeps disrupting the financial industry, and if traditional service providers fail do adapt on time, tech disruptors will step in.

For the poll, Fujitsu asked 7,000 consumers about their interaction with banks and insurers. Traditional payment is still the most popular, with 44 percent of consumers reporting using it, but 32 percent have already embraced mobile devices as payment services, 22 percent are using wearable devices, and 20 percent have been using crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin.

Crypto-currencies seem particularly strong in Eastern Europe, where 44 percent of respondents said they use it.

"Today’s customers are no longer guarded", said Francois Fleutiaux, senior vice president and head of Sales, EMEIA, Fujitsu. "When it makes interaction more convenient they are willing to embrace innovation. They may not know where they need it until it is offered, but this is where technology comes to the fore -- it is the engine that is driving consumer expectations forward and the financial services sector has to live up to this new pace of change".

But the report also suggests financial services have plenty of opportunities -- consumers are willing to buy more from them. A third said they’d buy energy for their home, as well as personal data storage. Almost a third (30 percent) said they’d buy broadband services from either their bank or insurer.

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