Only 1 in 10 Brits would let AI open a bank account for them
Key Points
- Only 10% of UK consumers would trust AI to open a financial product for them
- 95% of European financial providers plan to accept applications from AI agents
- Just 6% would let AI open a savings account entirely on its own
- Consumers trust banks with their data nearly twice as much as AI firms
- 60% have abandoned an online financial application, down from 68% in 2022
Only 10% of UK consumers would trust AI to open a financial product for them, new research from digital identity firm Signicat has found.
Sapio Research carried out the survey for Signicat in August 2026, polling 4,050 consumers and 450 financial service providers across nine European countries, including the UK.
The UK figure covered products such as savings accounts and loans, and matched the 10% average across all nine countries. German consumers were the most open to the idea at 13%, while Sweden came last at just 4%.
95% of the financial service providers surveyed plan to support applications made by authorised AI agents, and 79% said they are ready to process them now or will be soon.
83% of providers expect AI-made applications to become a meaningful share of new business within three years, with 38% expecting this within the next 12 months.
Open to the idea of help
Across Europe, 65% of consumers said they were happy for AI to provide information on financial products, help fill in forms or recommend products. Only 11% of consumers wanted AI to complete an application on their behalf.
Just 6% would let AI open a savings account from start to finish on its own, while a further 14% would allow it as long as they gave final approval.
41% of consumers said they did not want to use AI for opening a savings account at all. Support dropped to 15% for AI applying for a loan and 13% for a mortgage.
Only 15% of consumers would trust AI to use their digital identity, and 14% would let it digitally sign an application for them.
Having final approval would make 39% of consumers more comfortable with AI opening a financial product, while 32% wanted the ability to override the AI at any point.
A recommendation from their own bank would win over just 17% of consumers, and 26% said nothing would make them comfortable.
Banks still trusted
Consumers trusted financial institutions to keep their personal information safe almost twice as much as AI providers, at 44% compared with 23%.
65% of consumers believed giving AI access to their data was risky, and 60% believed financial firms could influence AI into recommending their own products.
When asked who would be liable if an AI-made application went wrong, 43% of consumers named the AI provider and 20% named the financial service provider.
Existing friction
60% of consumers across the nine countries said they had abandoned an online financial application partway through, down from 68% in 2022.
20% of respondents quit because the process asked for too much personal information, and 17% gave up because it took too long.
A further 13% abandoned an application because they had to visit a branch or send documents in the post, while 10% found the language too confusing.
“It is startling that years of digital investment have not managed to materially lower the percentage of abandoned online applications,” said Leda Glyptis, Chair of the Board at Bourn AI and Visiting Professor of Practice at Loughborough London.
Signicat said providers will need to verify the AI agent itself, as well as the customer, before agents can act on someone’s behalf, an approach it called Know Your Agent (KYA).
“Customers want a copilot, not an autopilot,” said Emma Bauer, Chief Product Officer at Signicat.
