The Republic has the greatest level of trust in digital banking in Europe and has recorded one of the fastest adoption rates globally over the past few years, according to a new study.
The report reveals that the State came in fourth place overall for digital banking adoption globally between 2018 and 2020, behind Switzerland, Brazil and Australia, but ahead of the UK and France.
According to the N26/Accenture study, which surveyed more than 47,000 banking customers in 28 markets, digital banking adoption is expected to grow to about 70 per cent in the future, meaning a potential market size of 1.4 billion customers.
It reveals that 23 per cent of consumers in the 28 countries its survey covered, already have a digital-only bank account. This is equivalent to about 450 million people.
Some 68 per cent of Irish banking customers have trust in digital banking, the greatest level recorded in Europe and behind only Brazil globally.
While the majority of digital-only adopters are higher-income earners, male, and aged 25 to 44 years, the study shows the start of a noticeable shift in user demographics when it comes to digital banking.
Almost half of the survey’s participants who don’t currently have a digital bank account said they are open to having one.
"It is clear that building and earning trust is a significant factor in our industry's future, especially as we do not have centuries of legacy that traditional banks do. However, the pandemic showed that we must be focused on the future, not the past," said Alex Weber, chief growth officer at N26.
