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A FIS survey of 2,000 UK adults found that 22% are ready to let an AI assistant manage their day-to-day money, while 58% are not. Many already use generative AI and banking-app assistants for financial tasks, but respondents were more comfortable with limited actions than with transfers, credit applications or unrestricted spending.
Only 22% of UK adults say they are ready to hand day-to-day money management to an AI assistant, while 58% are not, according to a FIS survey of 2,000 people reported by Finextra. The findings point to a gap between using AI for financial guidance and allowing it to carry out banking decisions or transactions on a customer’s behalf.
Use of AI for money-related help is already common in the survey. Fifty-eight per cent of respondents said they had used general-purpose generative AI tools, including ChatGPT or Claude, in the previous 12 months for tasks such as budgeting, asking about an account or choosing a financial product. Nearly two-thirds said they expected to use such tools for financial help in the next 12 months. The source does not provide a more specific survey date or clarify whether that expectation covers the same tasks.
Respondents also reported using AI built into financial services: 56% had used an AI assistant within a banking app for something related to their money in the past year. The survey distinguishes that kind of help from agentic banking, where an AI carries out banking tasks for a customer. Half of UK adults said they had never heard of agentic banking, suggesting that familiarity with AI tools does not necessarily mean familiarity with systems that can act.
Comfort varied according to the task. Respondents were most comfortable with an AI assistant flagging or freezing a suspicious charge (56%), paying a recurring bill they had previously approved (52%), or rounding up purchases into savings (51%). Comfort was lower for sending money to another person or business (38%), opening a savings or deposit account (35%), and applying for a loan or credit card (30%).
Trust Depends on the AI Task
The survey suggests banks may face different levels of acceptance depending on how much discretion a system receives. Customers appear more open to bounded, familiar actions—such as identifying a suspicious charge or paying an approved bill—than to decisions that create new financial commitments or move money to other people. That distinction matters as financial firms consider how to introduce AI that can act, rather than only answer questions.
Respondents also expressed a preference for control over spending. More than half would not allow an AI assistant in their banking app to spend or move money without approving each transaction. Among those who would permit it, 35% would set a limit of £250 or less, while 5% would allow more than £500 or set no limit. These responses indicate that transaction permissions and spending caps may shape whether customers accept delegated banking tasks.
The findings are survey responses, not evidence that a particular AI banking product is safe, effective or widely available. They do, however, give banks an indication of reported consumer attitudes. The source does not include details about how respondents were recruited, the survey’s margin of error, or whether reported use involved specific providers.
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From Financial Help to Action
The reported results show two different forms of consumer interaction with AI. One is assistance: using a general chatbot or an in-app tool to get information, plan a budget or consider a product. The other is delegated action: authorising a system to make payments or carry out banking tasks. The survey’s readiness question concerns the latter, while its past-use figures include a broader range of activities.
Willingness to hand over day-to-day money management also differed by age group. It was highest among millennials at 33%, followed by Gen Z at 27% and Gen X at 15%. The figures were 8% among adults aged 62 to 69 and 3% among those aged 70 and older. The source also says young UK adults were less likely to indicate readiness than their US counterparts: 61% of US millennials and 58% of US Gen Z respondents said they were ready. It does not provide further details about how the UK and US survey samples compare.
Survey Limits and Open Questions
The figures describe what survey respondents said; they do not establish how people would behave when using a live service, or how attitudes may change over time. The report, as supplied, does not state when the survey was conducted, how participants were selected, the survey’s margin of error, or the exact wording and definitions used for every question.
It is also unclear what products respondents had in mind when answering about AI assistants, whether their reported banking-app use involved an assistant taking actions, or how many had encountered agentic banking in practice. The comparison with US age groups is reported without information on whether the two samples used matching methods. The survey does not assess system performance, security, liability rules or the availability of particular features.
How Banks Respond to Caution
FIS’s Pandit urged banks to begin with tasks that respondents already find more acceptable, let customers set transaction limits and explain who is accountable if an AI-driven action goes wrong. Those are recommendations attributed to FIS; the source does not announce a new product, policy change or implementation timetable.
The next relevant development will be how banks and other financial providers design and describe any AI features that can act for customers, including what permissions users can set and whether they must approve each transaction. The survey itself does not identify a planned follow-up study or a date for further findings, so changes in consumer readiness remain unknown.
Key Questions
How many UK adults are ready to let AI manage their day-to-day money?
In the FIS survey, 22% said they were ready to hand day-to-day money management to an AI assistant, while 58% said they were not.
Are people in the UK already using AI for financial tasks?
Yes. The survey found that 58% had used general-purpose generative AI for a money-related task in the previous 12 months, and 56% had used an AI assistant in a banking app for something related to their money.
Which financial tasks were respondents most comfortable letting AI handle?
Respondents were most comfortable with flagging or freezing a suspicious charge (56%), paying a previously approved recurring bill (52%) and rounding up purchases into savings (51%).
How much money would respondents let an AI move without approval?
More than half said they would not allow an in-app AI assistant to spend or move any money without transaction approval. Among respondents who would allow it, 35% would cap the amount at £250 or less, while 5% would allow more than £500 or set no limit.
When was the survey conducted?
The source material reports a survey of 2,000 UK adults but does not specify the survey dates, its margin of error or the participant-selection method.
Source: finextra.com
