Millions of Canadians value face-to-face financial advice

Fintech may be growing but a new survey shows that millions of Canadians are not ready to wave goodbye to bank branches.

The poll from Mintel reveals that 86% of Canadians have visited a bank branch in the past year and 1 in 4 visit their branch more than once a month on average.

Almost three-quarters of respondents said that they prefer to visit a branch to buy more complex financial products and 68% said they would prefer to buy new products in a branch rather than through a call centre.

Most (62%) also said that they prefer face-to-face meetings to other methods when resolving problems.

The data should be good news for the longevity of bank branches as younger Canadians (18-24) say that are visiting branches more as they get older.

Older consumers (55+) are more likely to visit a branch for financial planning advice (20% vs. 16% of all respondents) or to buy investment products (16% vs 11% overall).

“The appeal of the bank branch continues to be strong in the face of technological banking innovations, even among younger consumers who are likely still in the early stages of their financial journey,” said Sanjay Sharma, Senior Financial Services Analyst at Mintel.

Only 35% of respondents said that digital banks offer all their banking needs although 54% said that they prefer to look online for answers about their financial accounts.

“In many ways, the rise of quick-service formats and automated service has actually fuelled a greater desire for good old-fashioned customer service, particularly in face-to-face form,” added Sharma.

He added that bank branches of the future may see a slow shift towards advice rather than transactions.