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A global survey of 2,000 digital banking customers has revealed that financial wellness is now the top priority for consumers, outranking both health and family relationships.

The research, conducted by Personetics, a provider of AI-powered customer engagement solutions for banks, shows that financial institutions must rapidly evolve their digital offerings to meet changing customer expectations.

The survey found that 52% of respondents ranked financial wellness as their primary life concern, compared to 46% for health and wellbeing, and 45% for family and relationships.

This pattern held across most regions and age demographics, with Generation Z (17-27 years) and Baby Boomers (60-78 years) showing the strongest preference for financial wellness.

AI-Driven Insights Win Consumer Trust

The research indicates that 70% of consumers want their banks to analyse their financial activities to recommend steps for improving their financial health.

Of those, 25% reported being “extremely” interested in having their spending and saving habits analysed, while 45% were “very” interested.

Consumers displayed significant trust in digital banking channels, with 76% trusting financial insights delivered through their banking apps.

The data shows 35% of customers “fully” trust their app’s recommendations, while 41% “mostly” trust them.

Udi Ziv, Chief Executive Officer at Personetics, states: “Democratising financial wellness is not just a nice-to-have but a must-have. Banks that fail to heed this call risk losing their customers’ loyalty and being left behind.”

Specific Services Drive Engagement

The survey identified strong interest in specific AI-driven financial services.

Alerts for double-billing or unusually high expenses ranked highest (79%), followed by curated offers based on spending and saving habits (74%), and overdraft prevention warnings (73%).

Regional differences emerged in the data, with Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) respondents showing the highest level of interest (79%) in their bank understanding their financial needs.

This suggests financial institutions in these regions have established stronger relationships with customers regarding financial wellness services compared to North America and Asia-Pacific regions.

Jim Marous, co-publisher of The Financial Brand and a retail banking influencer, notes: “I want a financial institution that will drive intelligence that makes me smarter, which is exactly what the bank in the past used to do.”

Customer Loyalty at Stake

Perhaps most significant for financial institutions, 84% of respondents indicated they would consider switching banks to receive more timely, relevant tips and advice to improve their financial health.

More than half (58%) are either “extremely likely” (21%) or “very likely” (27%) to make such a change.

The younger demographic values contextual insights as essential, while the older group, having accumulated more wealth, seeks optimal financial advice to secure their retirement.

When asked how receiving tailored tips based on their daily financial habits would affect their relationship with their bank, 74% said it would increase their loyalty—32% “greatly” and 42% “somewhat”.

David Brear, Chief Executive Officer at 11: FS, a digital financial services consultancy, observes: “Whether your company existed for 300 years or whether it’s existed for three, in a digital world doesn’t really matter.

“Being able to really differentiate on a value proposition to the customer ultimately is going to be the thing that actually allows you to have a sustainable business going forwards.”

The Personetics survey was conducted in December 2024 and included respondents from North America (48%), EMEA (24%), and Asia-Pacific (28%).

Participants were evenly distributed across age groups and had household incomes above local averages.

Dr Dennis Khoo, author and Managing Partner at all Digital future LLP, highlights a gap in current banking services: “For people who have multiple accounts, very few banks can aggregate the entire balance for the month and tell you, ‘Compared to last month, your overall balance has gone up or gone down by this much.’

“Even something as simple as that, I’ve not seen a bank do on an aggregate basis yet.”