Financial services providers (FSPs) are increasingly prepared to allow AI agents to initiate account applications on behalf of customers, but consumer trust in autonomous AI-driven financial services remains limited. New research from Signicat, a European provider of digital identity and fraud prevention solutions, reveals that while 65% of consumers support using AI to assist with financial applications, most want to maintain control over the process.
The findings, published in The Battle to Onboard 2026: The AI Reality Check, examine consumer and financial services provider attitudes toward digital identity, identity verification, and online trust as agentic AI becomes increasingly relevant to financial services. The report also highlights persistent challenges in digital onboarding, with 60% of European consumers having abandoned an online financial application, compared with 68% reported in Signicat’s 2022 research.
“It is startling that years of digital investment have not significantly lowered the percentage of abandoned online applications,” said Dr Leda Glyptis, Board Chair at Bourn AI. “That means as an industry we are not listening to consumers properly, nor understanding their red lines. This gap, where we haven’t listened enough up until yesterday, is where today’s opportunity lies.”
The research identifies several significant differences between the industry’s readiness to deploy agentic AI and consumers’ willingness to delegate sensitive financial activities to automated systems.
Digital onboarding challenges remain widespread: Six in ten consumers (60%) reported abandoning an online financial application within the past year. Although this represents an improvement from 68% in 2022, lengthy application procedures and requests for excessive information continue to discourage applicants.
Digital identity remains a major trust barrier: Only 15% of consumers would allow AI to use their digital identity for bank identity verification, while just 14% would trust AI to sign contracts on their behalf when opening an account.
Financial providers are more prepared than consumers: While 79% of financial services providers report being ready to handle AI-initiated applications, only 14% of consumers feel comfortable allowing AI to open financial products on their behalf.
Consumer trust in AI depends on the level of risk: Consumers are more willing to delegate lower-risk activities, including creating recipes (42%) and drafting emails (38%). However, only 8% would permit AI to make high-value purchases, while 19% would trust it with smaller transactions.
Consumers favor AI assistance over autonomous decision-making: Although 65% support AI helping with financial applications, including gathering information and preparing submissions for approval, only 11% would allow AI to complete the entire application independently.
Financial institutions hold an advantage in data security trust: Consumers are nearly twice as likely to trust financial services providers (44%) as AI providers (23%) with their personal information, potentially positioning established financial institutions more favorably as AI-driven financial services expand.
The report also indicates that countries with advanced digital identity adoption are not necessarily more receptive to autonomous AI in financial services. Norway, despite having Europe’s strongest preference for digital ID, recorded the highest resistance to AI opening financial products on consumers’ behalf, with 79% expressing discomfort. Similar concerns were reported in Finland (78%) and Sweden (73%), while 69% of UK consumers said they were uncomfortable with AI performing this activity.
“The gap between provider expectations and consumer comfort with AI is an issue that financial services have faced many times before, from online banking to contactless payments,” said Emma Bauer, CPO at Signicat. “The rise of chatbots has also shown us that AI adoption can scale dramatically. How quickly it happens, and which providers are best positioned to benefit, will hinge on building trust and ensuring that people, businesses and AI agents can interact securely and with confidence. That means preparing now, with measures such as real-time fraud prevention and Know Your Agent frameworks.”
The findings highlight the importance of establishing secure digital identity verification, real-time fraud prevention, and Know Your Agent frameworks as financial institutions prepare for greater use of agentic AI. Although providers are developing the capabilities needed to support AI-initiated applications, consumer acceptance will depend on their confidence that sensitive identity information and financial decisions remain adequately protected.
The complete research findings are available in The Battle to Onboard 2026: The AI Reality Check.
Methodology
The research surveyed consumers and compliance and identity decision-makers across nine European countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
The consumer sample included 4,050 participants across different age groups and genders who held bank accounts in their countries of residence and had applied for a financial product during the preceding 12 months.
The business sample consisted of 450 managers and senior decision-makers responsible for digital customer onboarding, compliance, and digital identity verification. Participants represented organizations that develop, provide, or facilitate financial products and services, including those operating through partnerships, platforms, and embedded financial arrangements.
Sapio Research conducted the online interviews in August 2026 through email invitations and an online survey.
About Signicat
Signicat is a leader in digital identity, helping private and public organisations verify users’ identities, authenticate access, and sign agreements with confidence. Founded in 2006, Signicat’s Digital Identity Platform brings together identity proofing, authentication, electronic signing, and orchestration through a single integration. It supports the full digital identity journey from recognition and onboarding to login, consent, and legally binding contracts. More than 20,000 customers in 45 countries trust Signicat to reduce fraud, remove friction, and meet European and global regulatory requirements such as eIDAS, PSD2, AMLR, and the GDPR. The company serves high-trust sectors including financial services, insurance, telecommunications, and the public sector. Signicat actively contributes to shaping Europe’s future digital identity ecosystem and participates in the EU Digital Identity Wallet Large-Scale Pilots, including WE BUILD, Aptitude, NOBID, and EWC, helping to define interoperability and standards.
In 2019, Signicat was acquired by leading private equity investor Nordic Capital. Today, Signicat employs over 530 people across 20 offices in 15 European countries. For further information, visit https://www.signicat.com.
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