Digital-only banks have gotten an more and more widespread fixture within the UK’s monetary ecosystem, as extra companies flip to suppliers like Starling and Monzo to handle their accounts with out the necessity for bodily branches. This may increasingly level to a broader shift in belief, as confidence in conventional banks could also be waning following a string of latest cyber assaults, particularly these affecting main banking establishments like Barclays and HSBC.
To higher perceive how enterprise leaders are viewing this shift, NerdWallet UK surveyed 500 UK enterprise homeowners – repeating an identical research from 2024– to discover their opinions on the rise of on-line enterprise banking. Amy Knight, small enterprise skilled at NerdWallet UK, additionally gives insights into how UK companies are embracing digital banking beneath.
7 in 10 enterprise leaders are contemplating switching to an online-only financial institution in 2025
Enterprise Leaders’ Chance to Think about On-line-Solely Banking (2025)
% of Enterprise Leaders
Possible
70%
Neither probably nor unlikely
10%
Unlikely
15%
The vast majority of UK enterprise leaders present openness to online-only banking with suppliers reminiscent of Monzo or Starling, with 70% saying they’re prone to take into account it. That is up from 66% final 12 months, indicating an additional shift to digital providers.
Solely 15% are unlikely or firmly opposed, whereas 10% stay impartial. Notably, solely 6% of enterprise leaders have been positively against online-only banking.
Over two-fifths (43%) of enterprise leaders desire the benefit and comfort of a digital financial institution
High 5 Causes Enterprise Leaders Desire On-line-Solely Banks (2025)
2025 versus 2024 %
I discover digital banking simpler and extra handy
43% (up from 22%)
I already use a digital financial institution for private banking and needed consistency
36% (up from 18%)
Digital banks higher perceive small enterprise and fashionable buyer wants
33%
A digital financial institution has a extra appropriate pricing construction for my enterprise
33% (up from 14%)
On-line-only banks appear simply as respected as conventional banks
31%
In 2025, extra enterprise leaders are choosing online-only financial institution accounts, with comfort cited as the highest cause. 43% discover digital banking simpler and extra handy, almost doubling from 22% in 2024. Stability can also be influencing enterprise banking, as 36% now say they need consistency with their private digital banking, up from 18% final 12 months.
One-third of enterprise leaders (33%) imagine that online-only banks have a greater understanding of small enterprise and fashionable buyer wants, whereas almost the identical proportion (31%) view digital banks as simply as respected as conventional banks.
Almost half of enterprise leaders (45%) place equal belief in digital and conventional banks
Belief in On-line-Solely vs. Conventional Banking Amongst Enterprise Leaders
All ages
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 and over
Belief each conventional and on-line banks the identical
45%
29%
49%
33%
43%
48%
60%
Belief conventional excessive avenue banks extra
30%
12%
26%
33%
35%
38%
24%
Belief on-line or app-based banks extra
21%
53%
25%
28%
17%
10%
8%
Neither or undecided
4%
6%
0%
7%
5%
3%
8%
Nearly half of British enterprise leaders (45%) belief on-line and high-street banks equally – a slight drop from 46% in 2024. This implies that total confidence in each forms of suppliers stays comparatively secure.
Though belief has dropped barely total for digital banking, youthful enterprise leaders are literally gaining belief in on-line monetary providers. Final 12 months noticed 40% of enterprise leaders aged 18-24 trusting on-line or app-based banks greater than conventional banks; this has risen by 13% in 2025, to 53%.
On these findings, Amy Knight small enterprise skilled at NerdWallet UK feedback on what’s driving the shift to online-only enterprise banking:
“This 12 months’s findings present that online-only banking has reached a tipping level for companies. Challenger banks are now not simply handy alternate options – they’re more and more seen as being extra aligned with the wants of British companies at this time.
“The variety of enterprise leaders who say they discover digital banking simpler has virtually doubled in 12 months. If this pattern continues, digital suppliers might be on monitor to overhaul the big-name banks within the subsequent few years.
“Many enterprise homeowners view managing their enterprise funds on a cellular app as crucial. A clunky person expertise or lengthy wait instances to talk to an advisor is not going to be tolerated by the following technology of enterprise leaders. This was evident within the knowledge, which highlighted 18 to 24-year-olds because the group more than likely to decide on a supplier primarily based on its app.
“As digital suppliers get slicker and on-line financial institution accounts get smarter, conventional banks might be left additional behind. Legacy infrastructure, which has confirmed to be weak to IT disasters, makes it more durable for the big-name banks to chase down the brand new youngsters on the block.
“Nonetheless, customer support, together with entry to an advisor, stays a core consideration for enterprise leaders of all ages. This creates a possibility for conventional banks to remain related in the event that they spend money on digital innovation and person expertise.”
Characteristic Picture by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
