The survey revealed that businesses have just 10 minutes to set up digital accounts or risk losing consumer trust. France and the UK have the highest proportion of consumers who feel comfortable accessing services online (9 in 10), and 43% of French respondents said they feel more comfortable now versus before the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked why they want to do something online vs in-branch, the top three reasons were: ‘I don’t have to travel (64%),’ ‘I feel safer accessing services online because of COVID-19 (48%),’ ‘I am not limited by opening hours (44%)’.

When asked which services were most important to have digital access, the top three responses were: banking and financial services (94%), telecommunications (89%), and hotel and accommodation (80%).

The key finding of the study is that digital identity verification is becoming the preferred option for consumers accessing services. In the survey, 85% of French consumers who have had their identity verified by submitting a photo of an identity document said they would like to use this method again. Biometrics is also emerging as the preferred option for digital consumers with 8 in 10 consumers saying they find biometrics such as a facial biometric both convenient and secure.