According to the research, conducted on behalf of IT services firm, Fujitsu Services, when receiving support, the majority (65%) said that they now prefer online support, with face-to-face contact in a branch (53%) coming a close second. Call centre contact over the phone was third choice at 43%, while mobile services (Internet or SMS) came bottom of the list at just 5%.

Not only are the web and branch the most preferred options, there is also a strong desire that the experience should not fall down between the two. Although much has been said in recent years about the importance of multi-channel integration, the survey suggests that integration is most critical between the two most used channels internet and branch.

The research - carried out by TNS using focus groups and surveys in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden also suggested that technology driven services that are easy to use are even more important to the overall customer experience than security. When asked about what inspired their loyalty, 37% of all respondents said that a good experience of automated services was most important, with less than half that number (18%) citing security of personal details as the chief factor.

The results of the customer survey were also used as the basis for interviews with senior executives at nine financial services companies across Europe. While customers placed value for money (43%) and customer service (41%) at the top of their wish lists, financial service providers believe that the range of products and the number of products that the customer has with one provider has the biggest impact on customer loyalty.

Customers disagreed, however: the range of products scored as their joint lowest priority (important for 11% of respondents), along with brand reputation and provision of product information.