A new report by Moneypenny, the leading customer conversations company, shows that across every form of contact, financial services companies scored themselves significantly higher than customers.
The biggest gaps were in digital channels. While 69% of financial services decision-makers believed chatbots met customer expectations, only 27% of consumers agreed- a 42-percentage-point difference. Similarly, businesses overestimated the effectiveness of social media by 40 points, web forms by 38 points and AI receptionists by 37 points. Even the strongest-performing channels showed a disconnect, although this narrowed to 16 points for email and 13 points for phone calls.
The research was conducted among 200 finance companies and 5000 consumers to understand the gap between business and customer perceptions.
The One-Shot Economy
The survey showed that 70% of consumers say they’re likely to choose the business that responds first. It also showed that 80% of financial service companies believe a customer will try a company again if they don’t receive a response to an enquiry, yet only 23% of consumers say they would keep trying, while around 1 in 5 or more would stop trying or go elsewhere.
Speed of response, professionalism, and human reassurance beats personalisation
When asked what matters most on first contact, both financial service companies and consumers rated clarity, professionalism and speed of response as important, but there was a big perception gap in the importance of personalisation, with 86% of financial services companies rating it as important, compared with only 68% of consumers saying this.
After hours advantage
The survey showed that 40% of consumers say support between 9am and 5pm would best meet their needs, while 26% would prefer early evening support between 5pm and 9pm.
The survey also showed that out-of-hours availability makes customers more likely to feel reassured (35%), complete an enquiry or purchase (27%) and choose or stick with a business (25%).
Unfortunately, most financial service companies surveyed cite staffing and cost as the reason they can’t extend cover, as the top barriers to offering out-of-hours support were:
• Staffing or resourcing: 43%
• Cost or affordability: 43%
• Technology limitations: 32%
• Customer demand doesn’t justify it: 26%
The report also highlights a broader experience challenge, with 1 in 10 consumers unable to recall a single memorable customer service experience, reinforcing how difficult it has become for brands to stand out.
Kevin Love- Hughes , Sector Finance Head for Moneypenny, commented: “We spoke to a broad cross-section of financial services companies, from investment and pension providers to banks and mortgage companies and what’s striking is how consistent these perception gaps are across the board. These aren’t isolated issues; they span the full spectrum of financial services companies, regardless of size or specialty. Many businesses believe they’re delivering a high standard of service, yet customers are telling a different story. In today’s on-demand world, where consumers are driven by speed and convenience, responsiveness and real-time communication are no longer a ‘nice to have’ – they are fundamental to winning trust, securing appointments and driving growth. Those that fail to respond quickly risk losing customers before the conversation has even begun.”