More than three quarters (77%) of consumers claim that the account opening process can ‘make or break’ their relationship with a financial services brand. A new survey published today by Trulioo, the leading global identity verification provider, reveals that people are becoming increasingly intolerant of poor online account creation experiences within financial services and (77%) will switch to other sites if they encounter a sub-optimal process. 

However, less than half (43%) of consumers in the UK and U.S. are fully satisfied with their recent experiences when opening new online accounts within online banks and insurance firms. 

Zac Cohen, COO of Trulioo, said: “Financial services firms need to ensure they are providing consumers with a fast and seamless account opening experience, while also fully protecting people’s security and identity. In such a fiercely competitive market, it makes no sense for banks and insurance firms to be putting so much focus on campaigns and incentives to attract new customers to their sites, only to let these people slip away due to slow and cumbersome account creation processes. First impressions are even more important in a digital environment where switching providers is only one click away.”

The research “Consumer Account Creation Report 2020”, reveals that customer concerns about online security are higher within financial services than in any other sector, with more than half of people (51%) reporting that they are ‘very concerned’ about identity theft when using financial services sites. 90% believe that online financial services providers have a responsibility to reduce cyber-crime through whatever identity verification is necessary, once again higher than within any other industry.

As a result, consumers are more concerned about security than speed when opening a new online account. Despite the ongoing quest for ever faster customer experience within the financial services sector, 90% of customers cite security as a very important part of an optimal account creation experience, far ahead of flexibility (60%) and seamlessness (58%).

Consumers see clear benefits in online financial services firms providing real-time identity verification as part of a fast and seamless account creation process. More than 80% are less likely to abandon a financial services firm that use real-time identity verification, while 84% have greater trust in the brand and 71% are more likely to share more personal data. 

There are a wide range of reasons why people abandon the process when opening a new online financial services account. Nearly half (44%) of the respondents would give up if the site was unable to verify their identity after multiple attempts and 41% would walk away if there were a lack of transparency about why certain personal information is required.

Cohen concluded: “Given the nature of activities that people undertake and the type of information that is shared and stored on financial services sites, it’s not surprising that levels of concern around security are high. However, while consumers want banks and insurance firms to protect their security and identity during the account creation process, they do not accept that this is an excuse for a slow or frustrating experience. World-class customer experience has to start with the account creation process, not just once a customer is onboarded. This is where real-time identity verification can play such an important role in meeting demands for both security and speed when signing up for a new account, and in forging stronger, more trusted customer relationships.”