Demand for banking services up 204% during COVID-19
The pandemic has seen fluctuating demand across many sectors, but one that has been a significant rise in the financial industry, particularly banking services.
Data was collated from TrustPilot and cross-referenced with the demand in the same months in 2019 to gain an insight into the rise of this demand. You can view the full data review results here. Data was taken from both the UK and the USA to reveal an overall increase of 175% and 47% between the two nations.
Aside from the obvious risk to the public’s general health due to the spread of the virus, the biggest worry people are facing is their own personal and business finances.
With a record number of people furloughed, facing redundancy and struggling to find work and business owners trying to tackle lost revenue during lockdown, more and more are turning to their banks.
Even those who have managed to push through the initial wave financially unscathed, individuals are now seeking a way to future-proof themselves should a second wave hit.
Consumer behaviour is changing with a large focus on e-commerce stores and remote customer service, contact centres are seeing a momentous increase for their demand.
With high-street branches closed, temporarily or permanently, the financial industry is finally seeing just how essential face-to-face services are as many encounter high call volumes and call agents struggling to cope with stressful workloads.
Services are now adapting and changing to accommodate this ‘new normal’ from implementing intelligent call centre software to utilising mobile apps and on-site live chats. All to relieve the demand from staff members and ensure that customers are provided with the best service possible, especially during such an anxious time.
We take a more detailed look into the rising demand for the financial industry below:
Banking and money
The banking and money world has seen an increase in demand of 204% compared to the same period in 2020.
Banks quickly adapted their services to ease the financial strain on customers and to entice new business.
Mortgages and loan payments holidays were swiftly brought into effect and personal loan rates were cut to bring about new business. This soon became highly competitive and resulted in customers contacting numerous providers to seek the best deal during the pandemic.
The USA has seen a rise of 148%, not as high as the UK but still of huge significance. While American banks were not offering the same services as UK banks, the huge portion of the population who are self-employed or work part-time have been contacting their banks to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to ensure some financial safety during the crisis.
Credit and debit services
The only financial sector that didn’t see a rise in both the UK and USA was credit and debit services. In the UK, these services have witnessed a 52% increase but demand in the US has decreased by 16%
In the UK, it is estimated that over 4 million people are using credit cards and overdrafts to help pay for essential costs. With numerous members of the public seeing a change in their financial circumstance, rising numbers are having to opt for borrowing funds.
In the USA, the government has been helping citizens with Economic Impact Payments, which could be a large contributing factor to the decrease in service demand.
Other services
Investment and wealth have seen a huge difference between the two nations. The UK saw an increase of 119% as the housing market began to reopen and incur a surge of backlogged mortgage applications, alongside others remortgaging to free up some equity and regain more financial stability during the crisis.
The USA only saw an increase of 30%, reflecting a steady rise year on year but not a huge change. As the housing market never really closed within the USA, there is little reason to witness a larger increase during these months.
Insurance service demands rose in the UK by 311%. Mainly seen within the travel insurance industry and a record number of holidays are cancelled and customers seeking advice regarding refunds and expenses cover.
There has also been a rise in private health insurance, despite free treatment on the NHS. UK citizens are wanting to protect themselves should they be hospitalized due to the virus and also to relieve some pressure from this public service.
In the USA, most citizens will already have some form of health insurance in place, however, for those who did not or are seeking a more comprehensive cover, short-term health plans have seen an increase. Overall, insurance has seen a rise of 26% in the states.
Businesses and those who are self-employed have benefitted from HMRC and the IRS allowed delayed payments to ease financial hardship and to help businesses get through the crisis.
However, these payment holidays can not simply be taken without proper consideration and new practices and processed followed and adhered to. This could be why accounting and tax services have seen the highest increase overall.
The UK rose by 372% and the USA rose by 517%. Not only are these services helping businesses to delay their payments but also look for any cost-saving solution that may be provided through the experts.
The housing market has been dramatically different between the two countries during the pandemic, with the USA witnessing very little closure with real estate agents, while the UK saw a complete ban on competitions for several weeks and viewings were halted.
However, the USA has seen very few properties listed on the market during this time, leading in just a 3% increase. As house prices dropped, few homeowners were willing to take the risk of having to accept low offers.
The UK has seen an increase of 87%, mainly down to the sudden reopening of the housing market and the allowing of completion as of the 1st June.
With such a huge increase in demand, these services are having to quickly adapt to how they work to adhere to social distancing measures and ensure the safety of staff and customers. Without the proper implementation of remote contact centres and new technologies, such as apps, these industries may find it difficult to cope with this rise.