Just over a quarter (27%) of British adults have said that they feel their bank is providing them with tailored support through the cost of living crisis, research by Tink has found.

The survey by the open banking firm found that 37% of 2,000 UK consumers said that they would like their bank to do more to help them manage their finances.

When asked what specific tools they were aware of and would like to use, budget management tools topped the list, with 31% stating they would like to use them.

Saving management tools were also in demand, with 30% of those surveyed saying they would like them to hand, with 28% saying they would like to use spending categorisation tools.

In response to this finding, 62% of banks said that they are currently working on or would like to be able to offer budget management tools to customers, and 63% said they are developing or would like to develop transaction categorisation.

However, the top reasons for the minority of banks being prevented in investing in new data-driven services include services not being seen as a competitive differentiator for the business (31%), and a lack of skills and resources to develop these products internally (27%).

The research also found that four in 10 (42%) of banking executives believe they have a responsibility to help customers through the cost of living crisis, with 56% agreeing that there is a commercial rationale for doing so.

This was supported by 42% of banking executives saying that the commercial rationale behind supporting customers reduces customer churn, with a further 42% saying it drives retention. 36% also said that it lowers customer acquisition costs.

UK and IE banking director, Tasha Chouhan, said: “As UK consumers brace themselves for ongoing financial difficulty, it’s encouraging to see banks recognise both the responsibility and opportunity in offering data-driven financial services to help consumers manage their finances during this challenging economic time.

“To pick up the pace, financial institutions should continue to invest in building these services, alongside raising consumer awareness of the tools already on offer. Partnerships with fintechs specialising in money management tools are one way institutions can bring data-driven products to market at scale, taking the friction out of integrating them into their core offering.”

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