Mistrust in banks has always been around since the beginning of financial institutions. But it didn’t come to the forefront of most consumers’ minds until the financial crisis of 2008. For the first time in the history of banking, consumers understood the risks banks were taking with their money, and many chose to take a step back.
Although the consumer-bank relationship has been somewhat restored since the crisis, mistrust remains. In fact, an EY Global Consumer Banking Survey in 2016 found that trust in banks is dwindling. The survey collected data from 55,000 respondents in 32 different countries with the findings indicating that 23% of bank customers have little or no trust that their bank will provide unbiased service.
Are Banks Doing Enough to Remedy the Situation?
While 23% of bank users having no trust in their bank may not seem like much, it still points to a customer-relations problem that banks have. The financial crisis of 2008 was an indication that banks seem to favor profits over their customers. The banking system is set up to cater more to a bank’s balance sheet than the welfare of the individuals trusting the bank to keep their money safe.
Indeed, one only needs to look at how a bank conducts its daily business. For instance, during the financial crisis, it became increasingly clear that banks were charging additional services that customers had no prior knowledge of. These additional charges were also not easy for the average user to detect.
Banks Are Not All Bad
The availability of banks and financial institutions have streamlined the financial sector, significantly reducing financial risk. Just by being there, they have also contributed to the expansion of financial opportunities for many of their customers.
Yet, about 40% of those surveyed said they were becoming less dependent on their banks as the primary financial services provider. They were choosing non-bank providers instead. This is a large number, and the reasons behind this migration are varied.
- Banks lack a transparency on product pricing and features that modern customers are beginning to demand from a financial services provider.
- They also have a poor record of “delighting” their customers, something the authors of the Global Consumer Banking Survey agree they need to work on.
- They lack innovation in customer experiences, and customers are beginning to look elsewhere.
Banks Fail to See the Need to “Delight” their Customers
Of all these problems with the banking sector, one of the most important is customer service. The ability to “delight” the customer with new, innovative experiences is largely lacking. That is why 40% of customers choose non-bank institutions like Etherecash as a primary financial services provider.
Customers need to be at the top of the bank’s agenda. This means transparency, security and customer service need to be improved. Financial services providers like Etherecash understand the need for unbiased financial information and transparency in all matters finance. That’s why Etherecash offers a secure blockchain-backed system that allows users to lend, borrow, spend and send money easily and reliably.
If you are looking for a non-bank solution for your bank woes, the Blockchain backed lending and fund management gives you a seamless and private alternative.
Purchase our Etherecash token through our ICO from October 25th 2017. Developed on the ERC20 blockchain technology with lawyer backed contracts, to make blockchain backed lending and fund management, private and seamless.
Buy our tokens now. Visit Etherecash.io.