The future of banking and financial services, unlocked
The future of finance unlocked
To unlock the benefits of the next generation of technology, businesses in the finance sector need secure networks that never fail. Connectivity drives resilience, productivity, and growth – enabling you to meet rising customer demands, by harnessing the power of AI.
Banking and financial services enterprises move massive volumes of data every second. But, despite this huge and growing workload, customers expect banking to be “always on”. Outages damage trust in a heartbeat, pushing people towards competitors; in this market, loyalty is earned via reliability and security, so networks have a major role to play.
They want secure access and personalised experiences, while employees across the finance sector expect cutting-edge digital tools that harmoniously integrate into their workflow to deliver on these promises – with reliable, fast and secure connectivity empowering everything.
Connectivity unlocks capital
With future ready networking, financial services businesses can provide more personalised products, utilise secure remote working, automated customer services, and access the latest AI tools. Our research shows investments in connectivity and connectivity-driven productivity gains could unlock £22bn of additional value for British finance and banking businesses between 2025 and 2030
Not only that, connectivity-driven efficiency savings could save workforces up to 20 days per employee per year – that’s around a month of workdays.
That’s time that can be redirected towards customer satisfaction and strategic reinvention.
£22 billion
The potential additional value unlocked for the finance sector from connectivity investments and productivity gains 2025 and 2030. That’s around a week’s worth of trades on the London Stock Exchange.
20 days
The potential annual connectivity-driven productivity gains unlocked by 2030 per employee. That’s roughly an extra month of workdays annually.
Counting the cost of poor connectivity
For banking and finance businesses that neglect connectivity, the potential costs are huge.
Our research shows both employees and customers could be tempted elsewhere if their digital experience isn’t up to scratch.
Nearly one in three (30%) of finance employees have quit or considered quitting because of sub-par tech.
While 12% of customers have switched banks having been let down by digital experiences. In other words, future-ready connectivity helps you retain skilled staff and treasured customers; it’s not simply a perk.
The customer’s always right
Customers expect speed, security and reliability from their provider.
Importantly, they also want visibility over their money, safe access to products and assurance that their data is watertight.
Real-time tech
Connectivity unlocks the tools that boost loyalty. When we asked customers what they expect from financial services:
91% said fast fraud alerts.
87% pointed to real-time payment confirmations.
83% quoted stable mobile banking at peak times.
82% said nationwide digital access.
To deliver this, businesses need watertight digital security. Fraud and data loss threaten profits and fuel new regulations – yet it’s becoming more common, and fraudsters are getting smarter. It’s a risk for banks and a trust issue for customers, so security must come as standard, with sturdy networks and AI stopping threats before they land.
“Banking and financial service organisations are working hard to unlock their full potential and deliver the best customer experiences. But with legacy systems, regulatory pressures, and rising expectations, transformation isn’t easy. That’s where my team comes in, we help build secure, robust, and seamless networks that enable the next phase of change.”
Stephen Boyes
Director of Banking and Financial Services, BT Business
Digital first banking
The banking landscape is moving fast. By 2030, branch use will fall to 9% of banking and financial activities, mobile app use will hit 54% and online banking will hold steady at around one third.
To ensure secure access to their money, customers are open to new authentication tools, like biometrics and voice recognition, but only if the services are reliable and unobtrusive.
Top talent follows top tech
Our research shows employees in the banking and finance sector love cutting-edge technology, including the biggest and best AI innovations. These high expectations are an opportunity for organisations who can unlock technology, potentially attracting talent away from their rivals.
The top five employee priorities at work are unbroken connectivity, flexible working, strong cyber security/data privacy, effortless collaboration and real-time data at their fingertips – all tools that shift the dial from boring routine tasks to more strategic, valuable and energising work.
Slow IT support and regular downtime can be a major block on recruitment and retention, especially if better tools are on offer at rival businesses. With the sector’s skills gap growing wider in recent years, technology is one way to hold on to top talent.
The top workplace tech priorities for employees
Unbroken connectivity.
Flexible working.
Strong cyber security/data privacy.
Effortless collaboration.
Real-time data at their fingertips.
A digital disconnect?
Our research uncovers a disconnect between the ambitions of C-suite leaders and the practical experience of professionals. An eye-opening 97% of top bosses report positive experiences and zero dissatisfaction when it comes to workplace technology. They expect nearly half of tasks to be automated by 2030, projecting more than eight hours saved per week with help from AI.
But the findings jar with those from frontline staff, 59% of whom say they haven’t received the training needed to use AI effectively. Worse, 44% of lower management worry that AI could even take their job.
And while leadership is broadly excited about new career opportunities and improved work-life balance that next-generation technologies could bring, employees lower down the career ladder are more cautious, signalling digital fatigue.
Despite these gaps, finance shows strong belief in improvement across all levels. Frontline and lower management expectations for time savings and flexibility are higher than in other sectors, and loyalty is closely tied to continued investment in digital tools.
Business boosting benefits
In summary, secure, reliable networks allow financial services businesses to:
Innovate for productivity
Meet regulation with confidence
Give employees the tools they need
Build lasting customer trust
Your future unlocked
Connectivity is a strategic asset. BT helps you protect it, scale it and use it to lead.
Secure and speedy networks
We create the secure, high-speed networks financial institutions rely on, powering faster payments, smarter operations and great customer service across every channel.
Fraud prevention
We mix resilience and security with Zero Trust architecture and AI fraud prevention, keeping banking and financial service organisations agile, connected and compliant in a fast-changing world.
Digital transformation
Beyond the network, our expertise in digital transformation helps to modernise IT estates, creating agile workplaces and building customer trust through personalised services.
Customer centric
With decades of experience in regulated industries and a proven track record in mission critical services, we are well-placed to help banking and financial service organisations deliver secure, resilient and innovative experiences that customers demand.
For guidance on how to plan and build your future network, get in touch.
© BT 2025
© BT 2025