UK Consumers Pick Favorite Non-Banks

Almost one-quarter of U.K. consumers would be “likely” to use an online payment provider like PayPal and WePay for retail banking services within two years, according to a survey of 2,000 U.K. adults by YouGov and legal website Out-Law.com.

That’s higher than the 19 percent who would bank with a company better known for non-banking products or services, and the 13 percent who would consider one of the new “challenger” banks like Metrobank or Virgin Money. And less than 5 percent said they were likely to bank with a tech company such as Google or Facebook, while bitcoin payments fell even farther down the list.

The survey, which was done on behalf of Pinsent Masons, the U.K. law firm behind Out-Law.com, found a “surprising” reluctance among respondents to commit to new technologies, according to the law firm’s financial services expert John Salmon. That includes 65 percent of respondents who said they were concerned about the security of payments made using technologies like contactless cards and apps on mobile phones.

“In two years’ time, just 10 percent envisage themselves using a bank branch or telephone banking,” Salmon said. “Surprisingly, only 12 percent of people see themselves using mobile devices to make payments, something which I think will be more common than people anticipate.”

But “the vast majority of British customers expect to be banking with established institutions in two years’ time,” he said.