As digital banking becomes the norm, over a third (34%) of Brits are worried about the potential of IT failures at their banks, and 25% now keep cash on hand as a precaution against outages.

This trend reflects the growing uncertainty consumers feel about the reliability of digital financial services, as the availability of in-person banking continues to decline.

Over the past year, one in six (17%) people have been affected by IT failures within their banks, facing an average disruption time of six hours, with customers unable to access their funds or pay for essential goods and services.

This data comes from GFT’s latest Banking Disruption Index, a bi-annual assessment of consumer sentiment towards digital banking.

The research also uncovered growing concern about the security and resiliency of third-party technology providers supporting banks, with 38% of respondents worried about the potential of these organisations to cause an IT outage at a bank, highlighting a broader scepticism around the security and reliability of outsourced digital services.

Additionally, 42% of those surveyed said they were wary of cyber-attacks, fearing that an outage could lead to personal information theft. This underscores the growing expectation for banks to protect both consumer data and access to funds.

Richard Kalas, Client Solutions Director, Retail Banking at GFT, said:  "These findings reveal a clear disconnect between the rapid digitalisation of banking services and consumer confidence around the security and resilience of these measures. While digital banking offers numerous benefits, it’s essential that banks continue to clearly demonstrate the various measures they are taking to ensure all critical customer services are resilient.“

The role of banks in enhancing security

As digital banking continues to grow, so do consumer concerns about security and reliability. In response, banks are under increased pressure to strengthen their resilience strategies, ensure operational stability, and better safeguard customers.

To meet these expectations, financial institutions must continue to invest in robust IT infrastructure and cybersecurity measures, and partner with trusted organisations to effectively prevent and swiftly recover from outages.

What’s more, under recent Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) guidelines effective from 7th October, banks must now refund fraud victims up to £85,000 within five days. By shifting a significant portion of responsibility back to banks, the regulation reinforces the importance of customer protection and proactive fraud prevention.