By focusing on digital transformation, banks could deliver better services and improve customer relationships, found a Youbiquity Finance research run by BT and Avaya. Convenient digital services such as video chat could help people better understand financial products and improve trust.

Consumers are now increasingly using technology for financial products and services which is being linked to an improvement in their relationship with their banks and insurance companies. 35% of UK consumers now admit they have a strong relationship with their bank, up from 29% in 2014.

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Steve Rafferty, UK managing director, Avaya, says: "Firms must act now if they are to continue to satisfy the rising expectations of digital consumers. They need to build digital contact platforms around the customer and ensure that they’re integrated across each channel."

More and more people are getting familiarised with technology, with 46% of UK consumers now using a PC or MAC once a week to check balances, leading to a boost in their confidence to experiment with more complex banking interactions digitally. 29% of all respondents say that they have applied for mortgages online, versus 17% in 2014.

55% of all consumers surveyed agree that having conversations with advisors by video conference would help them better understand the information being given. This rises to 63% of 16-24 year olds.

Surprisingly, despite them being the most tech-savvy generation, younger customers are the ones most in need of person-to-person support. The research finds that only 47% of 16-24 year-olds say that they are confident in making their own financial decisions, versus 66% of people aged 55 years or more. 62% of people said that video chat could help improve trust compared with 70% of 16-24 year olds.

Ashish Gupta, president, UK and global banking & financial markets, BT’s Global Services division, says: "With 24-7 access to online and automated services, and companies now offering person-to-person engagement via video, phone or web chat, it’s easy to see why trust in financial services firms is beginning to grow again."

Not to be forgotten are the challenges presented by the digital consumer. Two in three people surveyed expect web chat conversations to start right away and three in four people want their phone calls answered within 30 seconds.