Shared research study link
Zopa Digital Bank UX Evaluation
Evaluate UK consumer perceptions of Zopa digital bank app, trust factors for fintech banking, and barriers to switching from traditional banks
Study Overview
Updated Jan 19, 2026
Research question: Evaluate UK consumer perceptions of the Zopa digital bank app, what drives trust in fintech vs high-street banks, and the barriers and triggers to switching main banking and moving savings; sub-questions covered first reactions to Zopa’s proposition, the weight of a 4.5 Trustpilot rating, and required features/reassurances to switch. Research group: UK digital banking users (n=6; 18 responses), ages 25–48, spanning regions and occupations (caregiver, trades/technical, creative, compliance-oriented).
What they said: Typical reaction is polite interest but skepticism-“fast decisions” and “no hidden fees” are hygiene, not proof; trust rests on safety, clarity, control, and proof. A 4.5 Trustpilot score is a “vibe check,” useful for shortlisting but not decisive; behaviour is trial-first (small pot → bills → salary/savings), with diversification under FSCS limits and a backup high-street account. Main insights: Decisive drivers are visible FSCS/licence and deposit protection, operational reliability (status page, outage/lockout handling, fast withdrawals), reachable UK humans with clear SLAs, transparent pricing (APR and total repayable), robust security with explicit fraud reimbursement, easy exit/data portability, fallback web login/recovery, and practicalities like Faster Payments and occasional Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits; users also reject teaser rates and aggressive upsell.
Takeaways: Put FSCS/licence and brand-group mapping up front; publish single-page pricing with APR/total repayable and rate history/notice; launch a public status page with candid incident comms; and state support SLAs with a UK phone line and 24/7 fraud help. Reduce switching risk via web login + backup codes, clear in-app exit and data export, fast reliable payments/withdrawals, and optional cash-in routes; design onboarding around “start small → bills → salary/savings,” and compete on boring reliability and fair ongoing rates-not teasers or nudges.
What they said: Typical reaction is polite interest but skepticism-“fast decisions” and “no hidden fees” are hygiene, not proof; trust rests on safety, clarity, control, and proof. A 4.5 Trustpilot score is a “vibe check,” useful for shortlisting but not decisive; behaviour is trial-first (small pot → bills → salary/savings), with diversification under FSCS limits and a backup high-street account. Main insights: Decisive drivers are visible FSCS/licence and deposit protection, operational reliability (status page, outage/lockout handling, fast withdrawals), reachable UK humans with clear SLAs, transparent pricing (APR and total repayable), robust security with explicit fraud reimbursement, easy exit/data portability, fallback web login/recovery, and practicalities like Faster Payments and occasional Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits; users also reject teaser rates and aggressive upsell.
Takeaways: Put FSCS/licence and brand-group mapping up front; publish single-page pricing with APR/total repayable and rate history/notice; launch a public status page with candid incident comms; and state support SLAs with a UK phone line and 24/7 fraud help. Reduce switching risk via web login + backup codes, clear in-app exit and data export, fast reliable payments/withdrawals, and optional cash-in routes; design onboarding around “start small → bills → salary/savings,” and compete on boring reliability and fair ongoing rates-not teasers or nudges.
Participant Snapshots
6 profiles
Daniel Hargreaves
Sheffield dad, 34, primary caregiver with two young children. Budget-conscious, practical, and tech-savvy. Former marketing account manager retraining in data analytics. Values reliability, transparency, and community; spends free time in parks, Peaks, and…
Nikhil Thomas
Nikhil Thomas, 33, Leeds-based remote care coordinator and co-parent. Budget-focused homeowner, practical and routine-driven. Values clarity, reliability, and community. Seeks time-saving, low-risk, value solutions; cautious of hidden fees and complex commi…
Lauren Bennett
25-year-old Barnet-based upholsterer and furniture restorer. Shared-ownership homeowner, frugal yet quality-minded. Practicing Hindu, eco-conscious, introverted-friendly social life. Loves repair culture, design, and calm routines; values durable, repairabl…
Mateusz Nowak
41-year-old Polish electrician in Croydon, Hindu by conversion. Married, no kids, owns a flat, cycles to work. Pragmatic, frugal, safety-focused. Prefers reliable gear, clear pricing, and time-saving solutions; active in ISKCON community.
Patrick O'Connor
Irish-born, Liverpool-based dad and health & safety professional. Practical, value-focused homeowner who loves football, simple cooking, and family time. Seeks reliability, transparency, and sensible pricing; avoids hype, hidden fees, and complexity.
Conor Kavanagh
Irish single dad in Barry, 37, associate technical CAD role, walks to work, rents privately, tight but steady budget, values durability and clarity. Co-parents an 8-year-old, loves rugby, coastal life, DIY, and straightforward tech.
Daniel Hargreaves
Sheffield dad, 34, primary caregiver with two young children. Budget-conscious, practical, and tech-savvy. Former marketing account manager retraining in data analytics. Values reliability, transparency, and community; spends free time in parks, Peaks, and…
Nikhil Thomas
Nikhil Thomas, 33, Leeds-based remote care coordinator and co-parent. Budget-focused homeowner, practical and routine-driven. Values clarity, reliability, and community. Seeks time-saving, low-risk, value solutions; cautious of hidden fees and complex commi…
Lauren Bennett
25-year-old Barnet-based upholsterer and furniture restorer. Shared-ownership homeowner, frugal yet quality-minded. Practicing Hindu, eco-conscious, introverted-friendly social life. Loves repair culture, design, and calm routines; values durable, repairabl…
Mateusz Nowak
41-year-old Polish electrician in Croydon, Hindu by conversion. Married, no kids, owns a flat, cycles to work. Pragmatic, frugal, safety-focused. Prefers reliable gear, clear pricing, and time-saving solutions; active in ISKCON community.
Patrick O'Connor
Irish-born, Liverpool-based dad and health & safety professional. Practical, value-focused homeowner who loves football, simple cooking, and family time. Seeks reliability, transparency, and sensible pricing; avoids hype, hidden fees, and complexity.
Conor Kavanagh
Irish single dad in Barry, 37, associate technical CAD role, walks to work, rents privately, tight but steady budget, values durability and clarity. Co-parents an 8-year-old, loves rugby, coastal life, DIY, and straightforward tech.
Overview
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US benchmark scaled to group size
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 ACS 1-year (Table B19001; >$200k evenly distributed for comparison)
Media Ingestion
Connections appear when personas follow many of the same sources, highlighting overlapping media diets.
Questions and Responses
3 questions
Response Summaries
3 questions
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Persona Correlations
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Overview
Across this UK sample (n=18) trust in a challenger bank like Zopa is anchored less in branding and more in demonstrable protections and boring operational reliability. Respondents describe a staged adoption path (small pot → bills → salary/savings) driven by: explicit regulatory signalling (FSCS/PRA/FCA details up front), single-page transparent pricing, visible operational transparency (status pages, outage post-mortems), fast reachable UK human support, and clear exit/refund safeguards. Life-stage and occupation consistently shape priorities: caregivers and people with imminent financial commitments demand bill reliability and frictionless transfers; trades/technical respondents demand technical uptime and recovery flows; compliance-minded/older respondents prioritise paperwork and formal regulatory proof; lower-income or less-formally-qualified respondents disproportionately require cash/cheque deposit routes and a high-street fallback.
Total responses: 18
Key Segments
| Segment | Attributes | Insight | Supporting Agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-30s household managers / caregivers |
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Immediate household consequence of banking failures makes predictable payments and phone support non-negotiable; these users will pilot fintechs but will not move salary until they see sustained, mundane reliability. | Daniel Hargreaves |
| Young urban app-first creatives |
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Comfortable with app-first features and digital budgeting, but still demand operational backups and human support - they value product sophistication but use staged switching behaviour for core flows. | Lauren Bennett |
| Trades / technical professionals |
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Operational reliability is the primary trust lever - these users treat uptime evidence and recovery mechanics as higher-value proof than marketing claims and will resist moving primary flows without it. | Mateusz Nowak, Conor Kavanagh |
| Regulatory / compliance-oriented older respondents |
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These users use regulatory and documentary signals as primary trust filters; they see Trustpilot as initial screening but require governance evidence to move meaningful funds. | Patrick O'Connor |
| Lower-income / lower-formal-qualification participants |
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Practical access to cash and guaranteed availability of funds are drivers of conservatism; these users will test fintechs cautiously and keep a high-street bank for emergencies. | Conor Kavanagh, Nikhil Thomas |
| People with imminent major financial commitments |
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Timing matters: major credit/financial commitments create a temporary lock against switching; even satisfied users delay moving core accounts until commitments complete and transfers are guaranteed. | Nikhil Thomas |
Shared Mindsets
| Trait | Signal | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory protection required up front | Unanimous preference for FSCS and regulator/licence information being visible early in the onboarding flow rather than buried in FAQs - regulatory proof converts exploratory trust into willingness to trial. | Daniel Hargreaves, Lauren Bennett, Conor Kavanagh, Mateusz Nowak, Patrick O'Connor, Nikhil Thomas |
| Operational transparency as trust currency | Status pages, outage histories and honest post-mortems are repeatedly cited as higher-value trust signals than promotional claims; users want to see how the bank behaves when things go wrong. | Mateusz Nowak, Patrick O'Connor, Daniel Hargreaves, Lauren Bennett, Nikhil Thomas, Conor Kavanagh |
| Fast, reachable human support expected | Even digitally fluent users want accessible UK-based phone or fast human chat support as a backstop for critical failures - human availability reduces perceived risk of moving core flows. | Lauren Bennett, Conor Kavanagh, Patrick O'Connor, Daniel Hargreaves, Mateusz Nowak, Nikhil Thomas |
| Distrust of teaser rates and hidden fees | Short-term promotional pricing or opaque fee structures are viewed skeptically; a single-page fee table with total-repayable examples is the preferred format to build pricing trust. | Daniel Hargreaves, Lauren Bennett, Mateusz Nowak, Conor Kavanagh, Patrick O'Connor, Nikhil Thomas |
| Staged/trial-first switching behaviour | Almost all respondents articulate a phased approach to adoption (small pot → bills → wages/savings) that implies conversion of primary flows requires time and repeated low-friction reliability. | Daniel Hargreaves, Lauren Bennett, Conor Kavanagh, Mateusz Nowak, Nikhil Thomas, Patrick O'Connor |
| Fallback access and easy exit are critical | Web login alternatives, Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits, cheque options and simple data export/closure paths are common requirements that lower perceived switching risk. | Daniel Hargreaves, Lauren Bennett, Mateusz Nowak, Nikhil Thomas, Conor Kavanagh |
Divergences
| Segment | Contrast | Agents |
|---|---|---|
| Young urban app-first creatives | Despite being digitally native and feature-hungry, some insist on voice phone support and 24/7 human help - showing product sophistication does not replace desire for human reassurance. | Lauren Bennett |
| Trades / technical professionals vs compliance-oriented older respondents | Trades focus on operational, technical evidence (uptime, recovery flows, APIs) while compliance-oriented respondents prioritise formal regulatory documentation and statements; both seek trust but through different proof types. | Mateusz Nowak, Conor Kavanagh, Patrick O'Connor |
| Lower-income / lower-formal-qualification participants vs other segments | Lower-income respondents place greater practical emphasis on cash/cheque deposit routes and high-street fallbacks; other segments are more willing to accept digital-only onboarding if protections and transparency are present. | Conor Kavanagh, Nikhil Thomas |
| Anomalous individual sophistication (trade worker) vs stereotypical expectations | Certain trade/technical respondents (e.g., an electrician) request enterprise-grade controls (IBAN clarity, Open Banking APIs, FX transparency), indicating pockets of higher product sophistication within typically pragmatic segments. | Mateusz Nowak |
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Overview
Consumers show polite interest but default to skepticism. Stars and slogans (fast decisions, no hidden fees) are hygiene, not proof. Switching happens only after seeing visible protections (FSCS/licence), operational reliability (status page, outage history), reachable humans (UK phone/chat SLAs), transparent pricing (APR and total repayable), security + fraud reimbursement, and easy exit. Behavior is staged: small test pot → bills → salary/savings, with diversification under FSCS limits and a backup high-street account.
Quick Wins (next 2–4 weeks)
| # | Action | Why | Owner | Effort | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Put FSCS/licence proof and brand-group mapping on hero + onboarding | Top trust requirement; reduces confusion about deposit protection and eliminates “e-money funny business” concerns. | Compliance + Marketing | Low | High |
| 2 | Publish single-page pricing for loans/cards (APR + £ total repayable, early settlement £0) | Users want one clean fee page with total cost in pounds; combats teaser-rate distrust. | Product + Legal | Med | High |
| 3 | Launch public status page with uptime history + recent incident summaries | Operational transparency is a primary trust signal; proves boring reliability. | Engineering (SRE) + Comms | Med | High |
| 4 | Publish support SLAs and UK phone hours; add “speak to a human” CTA | Fast, human support is non-negotiable and a key differentiator vs chatbots. | Customer Support Ops | Med | High |
| 5 | Expose in-app Easy Exit & Data Export | Reduces perceived lock-in; aligns with demand for control and portability. | Product + Engineering | Low | Med |
| 6 | Publish fraud reimbursement pledge and timelines | Clear, written policy on unauthorised transactions materially increases willingness to trial. | Risk/Compliance + Legal | Low | High |
Initiatives (30–90 days)
| # | Initiative | Description | Owner | Timeline | Dependencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Operational Transparency & Reliability Program | Stand up a real-time status page, publish outage post-mortems, define SLOs/SLIs (uptime, MTTR), and add push alerts for incidents. Prioritise Faster Payments reliability and lockout recovery flows. | Engineering (SRE) + Comms | 0–6 months (MVP in 60 days; full history + automated post-mortems by Month 6) | Monitoring/observability stack, Comms review, Legal sign-off on incident language |
| 2 | Human Support Upgrade (UK line + SLAs + 24/7 fraud hotline) | Introduce UK phone support with published SLAs, staff weekend/evening hours, and create a dedicated 24/7 fraud/lockout hotline with first-contact resolution playbooks. | Customer Support Ops | 0–3 months baseline; expand to 24/7 fraud line by Month 4–6 | Telephony platform, Workforce management, Training + QA, Budget approval |
| 3 | Safety, Access & Exit Controls | Deliver secure web fallback login, backup codes/passkeys, device binding/SIM-swap checks, instant card freeze/limits, clean CSV/PDF exports, and one-tap account closure. | Product Security + Engineering | 0–4 months (phased: web fallback → backup codes → enhanced device security → exit flows) | Security review, Identity/Recovery provider, Compliance |
| 4 | Transparent Pricing & Rate Stability Policy | Ship single-page fee tables across products, show rate history in-app, commit to ≥14-day notice before savings rate cuts, and prohibit bait-and-switch teasers. | Product + Legal + Treasury | 0–3 months | Legal review, Treasury pricing governance, CMS/Content ops |
| 5 | Staged Conversion Journey (Trial → Bills → Salary/Savings) | Design an onboarding path that invites users to “start with £100”, showcases FSCS and reliability proof, automates a safe DD pilot, and then promotes CASS once reliability is demonstrated. | Growth Product + CRM | 1–4 months | CASS team, Lifecycle messaging, Analytics attribution |
| 6 | Cash-In Options & Travel Practicalities | Pilot Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits, add cheque imaging if feasible, and publish clear FX/ATM fees and Ireland/EU usage guidance. | Partnerships + Payments | 3–9 months (pilot in Months 3–6; evaluate and scale Months 6–9) | Vendor contracts, Cost modelling, Compliance (KYC/AML) |
KPIs to Track
| # | KPI | Definition | Target | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trial-to-Primary Conversion | % of new users who move from small test deposit to routing ≥2 direct debits or salary within 90 days | ≥18% within 90 days | Monthly |
| 2 | Time-to-Human & FCR | Median time to reach a human (phone/chat) and First Contact Resolution rate for priority issues (fraud/lockout/payments) | Median <5 minutes; FCR ≥70% | Weekly |
| 3 | Operational Transparency & Uptime | Publicly reported uptime and % incidents with a post-mortem published within 72 hours; MTTR for payment incidents | Uptime ≥99.95%; Post-mortems ≥95% within 72h; MTTR <45 minutes | Monthly |
| 4 | Withdrawal Latency (P95) | 95th percentile time for Faster Payments outbound to clear to a major UK bank | <10 minutes (P95) | Weekly |
| 5 | Pricing/Rate Trust | % of savings rate reductions with ≥14-day notice and in-app disclosure; Pricing clarity CSAT | 100% notice compliance; CSAT ≥4.4/5 | Monthly |
| 6 | Fraud Reimbursement Cycle | Median time from unauthorised transaction report to provisional refund decision | <48 hours median | Weekly |
Risks & Mitigations
| # | Risk | Mitigation | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phone support expansion increases cost-to-serve and wait-time volatility | Phase roll-out, add callback/virtual hold, use WFM forecasting, deflect non-critical queries to high-quality self-serve without removing human access | Customer Support Ops |
| 2 | Public incident transparency magnifies negative sentiment during outages | Pair transparency with a reliability roadmap and concrete MTTR targets; train Comms for clear, time-bound updates | Engineering (SRE) + Comms |
| 3 | Fraud reimbursement pledge increases loss exposure and moral hazard | Clear eligibility rules, strong risk controls (CoP, velocity limits, device binding), analytics-based fraud detection, and periodic policy review | Risk/Compliance |
| 4 | Cash deposit partnerships are slower/more expensive than forecast | Pilot limited geographies, negotiate per-transaction caps, monitor utilisation and unit economics before scaling | Partnerships |
| 5 | Miscommunication on FSCS/licence details leads to regulatory scrutiny | Legal pre-clearance of all copy, standardised disclosure blocks in-app/web, periodic audits | Legal + Compliance |
| 6 | Eliminating teaser rates reduces short-term acquisition vs competitors | Compete on reliability, service SLAs, and fair ongoing rates; offer switching bonuses tied to tenure, not teaser pricing | Product + Treasury + Marketing |
Timeline
0–30 days
31–60 days
61–90 days
90–180 days
180–270 days
- Ship FSCS/licence badges on hero + onboarding
- Draft pricing single-pages; legal review
- Define SLAs; publish support hours and fraud hotline plan
- Status page MVP scope + tooling selection
31–60 days
- Launch pricing pages (APR + total repayable)
- Status page MVP live (current uptime + incident feed)
- In-app Easy Exit & Data Export
- “Start with £100” staged journey live in onboarding
61–90 days
- UK phone support live; publish SLAs; QA first-contact playbooks
- Fraud reimbursement pledge published; controls tuned
- Web fallback login + backup codes (phase 1)
- Rate-change notice mechanism shipped
90–180 days
- Status page v2 with uptime history + auto post-mortems
- 24/7 fraud/lockout hotline active
- Enhance device binding/SIM-swap checks
- DD/bills pilot-to-CASS conversion journey live
180–270 days
- Cash-in pilot (Post Office/PayPoint); evaluate unit economics
- Cheque imaging feasibility outcome and roadmap
- Travel/FX fee clarity and Ireland usage guide published
Research Study Narrative
Zopa Digital Bank UX Evaluation: What UK Consumers Need to Trust and Switch
Objective and context. We evaluated UK consumer perceptions of Zopa’s digital bank app, with a focus on trust factors for fintech banking and barriers to switching from high street banks. Across three questions (n=18), respondents show polite interest but default skepticism: slogans like “fast decisions” and “no hidden fees” are seen as hygiene, not proof. Trust is earned through visible protections, boring operational reliability, human support, transparent pricing, and easy exit-then adoption proceeds in cautious stages.
What we learned (cross-question evidence)
- Regulatory and deposit protection are non-negotiable. FSCS and UK banking licence must be prominent. “FSCS shown up front, not tucked away.” (Daniel Hargreaves). This is the top driver across all questions.
- Operational transparency outweighs social proof. A 4.5 Trustpilot score is a “vibe check” (Lauren Bennett) that can shortlist Zopa, but decisions hinge on status pages, outage history, and lockout recovery. “Can I get my money fast if something goes wrong?” (Conor Kavanagh).
- Fast, reachable human support is essential. UK phone and rapid human chat with clear SLAs are expected. “A UK phone line that answers fast … a human inside 3 minutes.” (Nikhil Thomas).
- Transparent pricing beats promos. Single-page APRs with total repayable in pounds and no teaser rates build trust. Early settlement fees should be clearly £0.
- Safety, control, and exit reduce perceived risk. Web fallback login, robust recovery, fraud reimbursement clarity, and simple data export/closure matter. Users test with a small pot, then bills, then salary/savings-keeping balances diversified under FSCS limits.
- Practical access matters. Cash/cheque options via Post Office/PayPoint are valued by some; cross-border ease (Ireland) is a niche but real requirement.
Persona correlations and nuance
- Household managers (mid‑30s). Prioritise bill reliability and phone-backed support; will not move salary until reliability is proven over time (Daniel Hargreaves).
- Young urban app‑first creatives. Value pots, controls, and easy exit-but still insist on human support and transparency (Lauren Bennett).
- Trades/technical professionals. Trust is earned via uptime evidence, recovery flows, and post-mortems; marketing claims are insufficient (Mateusz Nowak, Conor Kavanagh).
- Compliance‑oriented older respondents. Demand explicit FSCS/licence, statements, and formal dispute/fraud processes (Patrick O’Connor).
- Lower-income participants. Need cash-in options and a high-street fallback; emergency withdrawals are paramount (Conor Kavanagh, Nikhil Thomas).
- Imminent commitments (e.g., remortgage). Will not switch until events conclude; timing and zero-friction transfers are key (Nikhil Thomas).
Recommendations (prioritised), with risks
- Surface FSCS/licence and brand-group mapping on hero and onboarding. Risk: miscommunication; mitigate with Legal-approved standard disclosure blocks.
- Publish single-page pricing (APR + total repayable, early settlement £0); show savings rate history and avoid teasers. Risk: pricing rigidity; mitigate with notice policies (≥14 days) and clear comms.
- Launch a public status page with uptime history and incident summaries; set SLOs for Faster Payments and lockout recovery. Risk: transparency amplifies outages; pair with MTTR targets and time-bound updates.
- Upgrade to UK human support with published SLAs and a 24/7 fraud/lockout hotline. Risk: cost-to-serve; mitigate via phased rollout, callback, and strong self-serve for low-risk queries.
- Ship Safety, Access & Exit controls: web fallback login, backup codes, device binding/SIM-swap checks, clean exports, one-tap closure. Risk: complexity; phase delivery and align with Security.
- Design a staged conversion journey: “Start with £100” trial → DD/bills pilot → CASS to salary/savings after reliability proof.
- Optional pilot: Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits to serve conservative and lower-income users; evaluate unit economics.
Next steps and measurement
- 0–30 days: Add FSCS/licence badges; draft single-page pricing; define/publish support hours and SLAs; scope status page MVP.
- 31–60 days: Launch pricing pages; go live with status MVP; enable in‑app data export and easy exit; introduce “Start with £100.”
- 61–90 days: Activate UK phone support; publish SLAs; web fallback login + backup codes; implement rate-change notice mechanism.
- 90–180 days: Status v2 with history/post‑mortems; 24/7 fraud hotline; enhance device/SIM-swap checks; promote bills‑to‑CASS path.
- 180–270 days: Pilot cash-in partnerships; publish travel/FX clarity and Ireland usage guidance.
- KPIs: Trial→Primary conversion (≥18% in 90 days); Median time-to-human <5 min and FCR ≥70% for fraud/lockout/payments; Uptime ≥99.95% and ≥95% post‑mortems within 72h; Faster Payments outbound P95 <10 min; Pricing/Rate Trust CSAT ≥4.4/5 with 100% ≥14‑day rate‑cut notice.
Recommended Follow-up Questions
Updated Jan 19, 2026
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What minimum increase in savings interest rate (percentage points, e.g., 0.5 = +0.5%) over your current provider would make you move at least half of your savings to a new digital-only bank?numeric Quantifies price sensitivity for savings; informs rate-setting and promotional uplift needed to win deposits.
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MaxDiff: Which evidence items most and least increase your trust in a digital-only bank? Options: Direct link to FCA Register showing banking licence; FSCS deposit protection badge with covered limits explained; Real-time service status page with uptime/incident history; Published customer support response/resolution SLAs; Independent security certification/audit summary (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2); Clear mapping of brand to banking group for FSCS grouping; Public post-incident reports explaining c...maxdiff Prioritizes the trust signals to feature in marketing/onboarding; guides which proofs to invest in.
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Rank the following by how much you would trust them to be your main current account (receive salary/pay bills): Your current high-street bank; Zopa; Monzo; Starling Bank; Chase UK; Revolut.rank Positions Zopa against key competitors for main-account trust; informs audience targeting and messaging gaps.
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If trying a new digital bank, which single product would you most likely start with? Options: Easy-access savings; Fixed-term savings; Credit card; Personal loan; Current account for bills; Budgeting/analytics only (no deposits); None of the above.single select Identifies the most effective acquisition entry point; shapes product sequencing and onboarding journeys.
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For each scenario, select the maximum acceptable time to resolution: Locked out due to app/phone issue; Lost or stolen card; Suspected fraudulent transaction; Outgoing transfer delayed; Card payment declined at checkout. Scale: Under 15 minutes; Within 1 hour; Within 4 hours; Within same day; Within 24 hours; Within 3 days.matrix Defines customer SLA expectations for critical incidents; sets operational targets and comms commitments.
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What is the maximum total balance (in GBP) you would feel comfortable holding with a digital-only bank, assuming FSCS protection applies?numeric Estimates potential share-of-wallet ceiling; informs deposit growth forecasts and risk/treasury planning.
Ensure brand list reflects UK availability for the sample; refine MaxDiff items to match what can be credibly published by Zopa.
Study Overview
Updated Jan 19, 2026
Research question: Evaluate UK consumer perceptions of the Zopa digital bank app, what drives trust in fintech vs high-street banks, and the barriers and triggers to switching main banking and moving savings; sub-questions covered first reactions to Zopa’s proposition, the weight of a 4.5 Trustpilot rating, and required features/reassurances to switch. Research group: UK digital banking users (n=6; 18 responses), ages 25–48, spanning regions and occupations (caregiver, trades/technical, creative, compliance-oriented).
What they said: Typical reaction is polite interest but skepticism-“fast decisions” and “no hidden fees” are hygiene, not proof; trust rests on safety, clarity, control, and proof. A 4.5 Trustpilot score is a “vibe check,” useful for shortlisting but not decisive; behaviour is trial-first (small pot → bills → salary/savings), with diversification under FSCS limits and a backup high-street account. Main insights: Decisive drivers are visible FSCS/licence and deposit protection, operational reliability (status page, outage/lockout handling, fast withdrawals), reachable UK humans with clear SLAs, transparent pricing (APR and total repayable), robust security with explicit fraud reimbursement, easy exit/data portability, fallback web login/recovery, and practicalities like Faster Payments and occasional Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits; users also reject teaser rates and aggressive upsell.
Takeaways: Put FSCS/licence and brand-group mapping up front; publish single-page pricing with APR/total repayable and rate history/notice; launch a public status page with candid incident comms; and state support SLAs with a UK phone line and 24/7 fraud help. Reduce switching risk via web login + backup codes, clear in-app exit and data export, fast reliable payments/withdrawals, and optional cash-in routes; design onboarding around “start small → bills → salary/savings,” and compete on boring reliability and fair ongoing rates-not teasers or nudges.
What they said: Typical reaction is polite interest but skepticism-“fast decisions” and “no hidden fees” are hygiene, not proof; trust rests on safety, clarity, control, and proof. A 4.5 Trustpilot score is a “vibe check,” useful for shortlisting but not decisive; behaviour is trial-first (small pot → bills → salary/savings), with diversification under FSCS limits and a backup high-street account. Main insights: Decisive drivers are visible FSCS/licence and deposit protection, operational reliability (status page, outage/lockout handling, fast withdrawals), reachable UK humans with clear SLAs, transparent pricing (APR and total repayable), robust security with explicit fraud reimbursement, easy exit/data portability, fallback web login/recovery, and practicalities like Faster Payments and occasional Post Office/PayPoint cash deposits; users also reject teaser rates and aggressive upsell.
Takeaways: Put FSCS/licence and brand-group mapping up front; publish single-page pricing with APR/total repayable and rate history/notice; launch a public status page with candid incident comms; and state support SLAs with a UK phone line and 24/7 fraud help. Reduce switching risk via web login + backup codes, clear in-app exit and data export, fast reliable payments/withdrawals, and optional cash-in routes; design onboarding around “start small → bills → salary/savings,” and compete on boring reliability and fair ongoing rates-not teasers or nudges.
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