Customer service statistics and trends in digital banking

Financial institutions have their work cut out for them in 2025. A complex geopolitical landscape, generational differences, and new developments in Generative AI require holistic risk-based strategies to succeed.

There are undoubtedly many factors that industry leaders need to consider moving forward. But arguably none are more important than ensuring effective customer service that promotes customer retention. 

This begs the question, what should banking professionals look out for? Here’s our take on the trends in customer service for 2025.

Generational differences with consumer preferences

In 2025, we’re beginning to see a generational divergence with regard to chatbot preferences. A Capgemini report found that, while a quarter of millennials and Gen Zs liked chatbots, only 17% of the boomer generation had the same sentiments. This extends to preferences regarding a human touch, with 25% of Gen X and baby boomers claiming to regularly contact human agents, contrasting with just 10% of Gen Z and 14% of millennials.

We can also see a difference when it comes to physical branches. One study found that only 12% of Gen Z perform transactions in person, instead opting for digital-first interactions on mobile apps and online platforms. One generation up, in the millennial bracket, we see more of an equilibrium in terms of digital and in-person preferences. That said, this group does highly value 24/7 digital support, with in-person services more occasional. 

Older generations show stronger in-person preferences, with 39% and 58% of Gen X and boomers respectively using branches. This is due to associations with trust, personal connections, and reliability, particularly for complex transactions. 

Overall, the trends show that traditional banks must lean into hybrid banking strategies to offer customers the channel of their choice, depending on their specific needs.

Generative AI: Challenges and opportunities

A Deloitte study found that there is a 5x increase in click-through rates for personalized financial products that have been driven by AI.

Other areas of impact will be in productivity and cost efficiency, improving each by 22-30% and 6%. It will further help with operations such as automating loan underwriting for up to $250,000 and reducing credit card delinquency rates by 32%.

That’s not to say that AI will dominate entirely. As Deloitte points out, “Generative AI shifts the role of human workers towards oversight, design, and customer engagement, while scaling processing capacity at a fraction of the cost.”

This is exactly what the Italian bank BPER is doing, having used a mixture of artificial intelligence and human intelligence to increase the cross-sell conversion rate by 65%. 

The challenges of advanced technology

That said, there are still hurdles due to Generative AI. The rapid integration of Generative AI as a crucial capability caught banking leaders off guard, leaving minimal time to ready their workforce, attract new talent, or manage associated risks.

According to Forrester’s forecast, a minimum of eight neobanks and two established institutions could encounter a Generative AI-related crisis that will necessitate regulatory intervention. They argue that even though traditional banks are diligently overseeing their pilot programs, there are still vulnerabilities, whether malicious or due to malpractice. This could result in breaches of copyright, leakage of customer information, biases, and other risks.

The overall apprehension surrounding the risks associated with Generative AI has prompted industry observers to call on governments, both nationally and locally, to introduce new regulations to address these concerns.

AI for positive customer experiences

This doesn’t imply that all applications of Gen AI should be avoided. There are particular scenarios where the technology is not only safe but also highly efficient. An illustration of this is the incorporation of Gen AI in Unblu’s Conversational AI offering.

Through the utilization of Gen AI, companies can tap into established knowledge bases using Language Models (LLMs), employ the bot trainer assistant to enhance intent creation, and enhance the efficiency of Live Chat.

Seamless and secure CX

Customer experience remains a prominent retail banking trend – and a key challenge for retail banks. Financial institutions must take substantial measures to redefine digital experiences.

That said, the talk of focusing on an “omnichannel approach” seems to have had little effect on the reality of the situation in many contact centers. There remains a problem of communication silos, disconnected from mobile banking apps, online banking platforms, and the in-person branch networks. 

One Capgemini report found that 61% of bank customers contacted agents as they were unhappy with the chatbot, with only 22% finding the chatbots fully sufficient. This is leading to a renewed interest in physical experiences in order to fill the void of experience deficits. As Capgemini says, “With 37% of customers favoring digital channels and 24% fully shifting online, retail banks are redesigning physical bank branches to provide differentiated value for complex financial needs.” 

That said, there is still a huge amount of promise in the online banking world, with customers becoming increasingly comfortable with even large decisions taking place online. Around 25% of French digital consumers are happy to discuss new financial products and services with their advisors. What’s more, almost 30% of digital banking product purchases in France are via digital signatures. Provided they can get access to human advice when needed, this is proving to be a viable approach for retail banks. 

Customer loyalty in banking

Many financial services organizations are weak when it comes to their engagement and retention strategies, with the result being that customer relationships are difficult to maintain after the initial account creation. As one report puts it, “Banks risk building leaky buckets through the front door but silent attrition out the back”.

What should they do to better appeal to customers on an ongoing basis? One survey found that the main experience that customers want – 98% claiming this in total – is to have their queries answered quickly. As of right now, most banking providers are not achieving this, with 58% of customers believing that the response times are too slow. 

However, for more advanced features such as budgeting or financial advisory services, the mobile banking platforms and digital banking services are proving less effective. A total of 60% of banking customers rated these more advanced features as “average,” identifying an area of opportunity for retail banks to improve in their mobile service offering.

Digital transformation in banking

Despite a few outliers, digital transformation in the financial sector has reached a certain level of maturity. But how are these efforts making an impact? 

However, there are still outliers. An estimated 60% of financial institutions are at various stages of their journey, with some even relying on legacy systems that are impossible to leverage for competitive results. The piecemeal approach needs to be addressed as a slow pace of change will risk them falling behind more digitally savvy competitors. 

What’s more, with Generative AI now so developed, the organizations that are at a solid stage of digital transformation will be turning their attention to implementing AI more deeply into their solutions. A reported 42% of bankers have identified this as a top investment priority moving forward.

Looking forward in 2025

Despite global challenges, customer expectations cannot be ignored. Personalized experiences and easy access to customer interactions undoubtedly represent the future of customer service success.

As with other years, this means that customer service representatives – meaning actual human agents – must be easily available at any point in the customer journey. Yes, artificial intelligence will play an increased role in providing an excellent customer service experience, but customer satisfaction is gained during key moments of human connection. By focusing on customer relationships and innovative products, business leaders can ensure an exceptional service grounded in positive experiences.