UK Consumers Hesitant to Yield Financial Control to AI Despite Rising Usage, FIS Research Reveals

UK consumers are increasingly using generative AI for financial tasks, yet a significant majority remain hesitant to grant AI agents autonomy over their bank accounts. This gap between assistance and agency presents a critical trust hurdle for fintech firms looking to deploy agentic banking solutions in the British market.

What was announced

The 2026 FIS Consumer Pulse Survey of 2,000 UK adults reveals that 58% are not ready to hand day-to-day money management to an AI assistant. While 37% of US consumers expressed readiness, only 22% of UK respondents felt the same. Despite this hesitation toward autonomy, 58% of UK consumers have used GenAI tools like ChatGPT or Claude for budgeting or account queries in the last year, and 64% expect to do so in the next 12 months. Furthermore, 56% have already interacted with AI assistants within their banking apps. However, 51% of UK adults remain unfamiliar with the term "agentic banking," where AI performs tasks on a customer's behalf.

Readiness varies significantly by age; 33% of Millennials are open to AI management, compared to 27% of Gen Z, 15% of Gen X, and just 3% of those aged 70 and older. The survey highlights that comfort is task-specific: 56% of respondents trust AI to flag suspicious charges and 52% would let it pay recurring bills, but only 30% would use it to apply for a credit card. To build trust, 62% of UK consumers demand a guaranteed refund for AI mistakes, while 51% want a human available to override decisions. This data arrives as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues its AI Live Testing service, with a second cohort beginning in April 2026, and following the FCA's October 19, 2026, publication of good and poor practice examples for AI in financial services.

"UK consumers aren’t rejecting AI, and most are already using it to help with their finances, but they aren’t ready to give up control. The message for banks is clear: start with the tasks people already welcome, like stopping a suspicious charge, let customers set the limits and be clear about who is accountable when something goes wrong. Banks that get this right will earn consumers’ trust to let AI do more on their behalf."

Kanv Pandit, Head of International Markets – Banking and Payments, at FIS.

The companies involved

FIS, or Fidelity National Information Services, is a global leader in financial technology, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FIS. The company provides a wide range of solutions for banking, payments, and capital markets, positioning itself as a central infrastructure provider for the global economy. FIS has been increasingly focused on integrating artificial intelligence into its core offerings, recently highlighting its Orchestrated Intelligence framework. This system is designed to operate within customer-defined limits, providing explanations for its decisions and maintaining human oversight to address the trust concerns identified in its consumer research. With a deep history in processing trillions of dollars in transactions annually, FIS operates at the intersection of traditional financial services and emerging digital assets. The firm’s market position allows it to bridge the gap between legacy banking systems and new technologies like agentic AI and stablecoins. FF News has tracked the company’s evolution extensively, noting its shift toward modular, AI-driven services that aim to reduce operational costs for financial institutions while enhancing the end-user experience through more personalized, automated financial management tools.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed FIS’s aggressive push into the AI sector throughout 2026. In October, the publication reported on how UK Finance Leaders Struggle to Measure AI Value in Cash Management Despite High Adoption, a trend that mirrors the consumer hesitation found in the latest survey. The firm has also moved to address specific banking pain points, as seen when FIS Launches AI-Powered AML Investigations Agent to Slash Bank Compliance Costs. Beyond compliance, FIS has targeted the C-suite, where FIS Launches Agentic AI Suite to Revolutionize Cash Flow Forecasting for CFOs. Additionally, the company has been active in regulatory discussions, with an FIS Expert: UK Stablecoin Success Hinges on BoE and FCA Regulatory Coordination, highlighting the firm's role in shaping the future of UK financial policy.

What this means

The stark contrast between UK and US readiness for agentic banking suggests a cultural trust gap that technology alone cannot bridge. While British consumers are comfortable using AI as a sophisticated calculator or search engine, they view the transition to autonomous financial agents with significant skepticism. This puts pressure on UK retail banks to prioritize human-in-the-loop designs and clear liability frameworks over pure automation. The FCA’s active involvement in testing and guidance indicates that the regulatory floor is still being built. For the industry, the challenge is no longer about proving that AI can perform tasks, but proving who pays when the machine makes a mistake.