A study from financial services technology provider FIS has revealed that 76% of digital-first direct bank customers said they were “very satisfied” with their banking relationships.

This was higher than the figure recorded for those who banked with one of the top 50 global banks, where 69% said they were “very satisfied”.

The Performance Against Customer Expectations (PACE) report by FIS also found that all generations except baby-boomers turned to their mobile phones first when interacting with their bank.

Overall, just one in five customers had heard of the term 'Open Banking', while when asked who they would trust more to provide a financial mobile app – a bank or technology provider – 61% said a bank.

Of those who banked with one of the top 50 global banks, just 4% said a technology provider.

Bruce Jennings, strategic development director at FIS (pictured above), said the PACE findings showed how competitive the UK market had become.

“Consumers are demanding ever-more consistent and convenient banking experiences, and it's the mobile interface – not physical locations or even personnel – that are now the face of a bank.

“This presents a clear advantage for the digital-first challenger banks that have entered the market in the wake of PSD2.

“For long-established banks, Open Banking provides an opportunity to leverage consumers' favourable views of their security protocols and engage the right technology partners to add the ancillary products and services customers want.

“However, they must first complete the long-avoided digital transformation to ensure they can effectively serve today's customers and maintain their market dominance.”