White Paper
AI-driven financial services: Why trust and human expertise are essential for success
Customer-facing AI is now a strategic priority across financial services — from retail banking to digital brokerage. Yet adoption depends on where AI adds value and how data is protected.
If banks and financial service providers meet these expectations, AI becomes a growth lever: higher engagement, better self-service, and stronger customer experience. If they don’t, adoption stalls and customers continue turning to external tools. This white paper shows what German consumers actually expect from AI in banking, which AI-powered financial products they already trust, and what will make or break adoption.
Trust: A key advantage for AI-enabled financial products
In a market where data security decides AI adoption, banks lead on trust. 45.4% of respondents trust banks to treat financial data in connection to AI responsibly, compared to 37.6% for stately institutions and 31.7% for Big Tech. This positions banks as the preferred partner for both financial providers and non-financial brands building AI-enabled banking products – from accounts and cards to consumer lending.
Consumers want AI in banking — and getting it from third parties
More than half of respondents (52.2%) want AI to help them understand transactions. Yet many customers are bypassing their bank to get this done: 27.9% rely on third-party AI tools compared to 24.3% who use their bank’s AI. Nearly one in five respondents (19.8%) use AI to improve financial literacy and investment knowledge, while 10.8% use it to help build ETF portfolios.
“AI tools in the financial sector generally enjoy a high level of consumer trust. At the same time, financial institutions should develop these services responsibly themselves – with data stored in the EU – instead of leaving the market entirely to providers from the US or China, whom many customers view with considerable skepticism.”
CEO of Solaris