The onslaught of automation, particularly the dizzying deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) has left many people searching for personal connections to the companies they deal with.
This is especially true with their financial institutions.
AI Leaders
Three of Canada’s big banks are ranked in the global Top-10 in AI research, according to a report from Evident Insights earlier this year. One of those banks is already using AI to pre-approve customers for mortgages and lines of credit. It also offers a virtual assistant to help customer service agents.
Strong Desire for Human Connection
A recent survey commissioned by one of the country’s biggest credit unions suggests 87% of Canadians want to be able to work through their most serious financial problems with a real person, not AI. Two-thirds (66%) say they are concerned about losing the “human connection” with their bank because of AI.
This represents a tremendous opportunity for mortgage brokers to provide a level of service that fills that gap.
Gen Z has Deep Concerns
Members of Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are generally seen as the next big homebuying cohort. Despite being tech-savvy, they are expressing some of the most wide spread concerns about the loss of the personal touch. More than 80% say serious financial matters should be dealt with by a person not a chatbot, while 75% want the option to chose between in-person and digital banking.
Gen Z is worried about money, with 61% saying they are anxious, panicked or uneasy. Nearly a third say they experience constant anxiety in the pit of their stomach.
Feeling Let Down by Banks
These younger Canadians are looking for help. Nearly half say they are trying to find access to better financial advice. Many who have turned to their bank for help say they have been left feeling bitterly let down. Six in 10 (59%) say their bank is putting its own interests ahead of theirs. Nearly 40% say the advice they get from their bank feels like an upsell. Nearly half (48%) say they get treated as “just a number”.
Desire for Better Advice, More Options
It is not just Gen Z that has money concerns. More than 70% of the preceding generation – Millennials – say it is becoming more difficult to make ends meet. More than 60% say their lifestyle is becoming unaffordable.
Women are more likely to worry about their financial future than men: 40% vs 18%.
As a whole, 60% of Canadians would like more competition in banking to help create new services and reduce fees. Almost half (46%) are open to alternatives other than managing their money with a bank.