Getting a mortgage should be a milestone, not a millstone. In some countries, digital-first lenders are now processing home loans in minutes – leveraging AI-driven risk assessments, open banking integrations and frictionless customer experiences.
“Today’s banking customers now expect speed, simplicity and personalisation,” says Yvonne Byrne, lead partner at Deloitte Digital. “The institutions that don’t adapt will find themselves left behind. But this isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about trust. Customers don’t just want speed for the sake of speed; they want to feel like their bank understands them, anticipates their needs and removes unnecessary complexity from their financial lives. If banks don’t start thinking like this, they won’t just be left behind – they’ll be left out entirely.”
This banking revolution is already here. The latest Deloitte Digital Banking Maturity (DBM) report, the world’s most comprehensive study of banking innovation, assessed 349 banks across 41 countries (including Ireland) and heard from more than 100,000 banking customers. One of the key findings is that Europe is leading this financial transformation. Banks across the euro zone aren’t just digitising – they’re reinventing the entire banking experience, moving away from cumbersome, feature-heavy apps to seamless, AI-powered platforms that anticipate customer needs in new and exciting ways.
Faster and more customised
This shift isn’t just around mortgages. The Deloitte DBM report found that top-performing banks are prioritising customer experience over product expansion, ensuring their services are simple, personalised, and intuitive. The old banking model – where customers had to navigate multiple platforms, branch visits and manual approvals – is being left behind. Customers are clear: they want new experiences from banks, and quickly; when they don’t get that, they are switching.
But is Ireland ready for what’s coming next? The numbers show that Europe’s banking leaders are already ahead of the curve, embracing these changes enthusiastically and leveraging automation, AI-driven personalisation, and real-time financial insights. Ireland, too, has made progress.
In Deloitte’s analysis of 1,021 banking functionalities, it’s clear that while Irish banks outperform the global average in digital account opening (59 per cent vs 54 per cent), they continue to struggle in crucial areas such as customer onboarding (28 per cent) and relationship expansion (28 per cent). Put simply: banks here are making it easier to sign up but need to work harder to keep customers engaged.
One surprising outlier is when it comes to account closures. Irish banks excel in this area, with 44 per cent offering streamlined digital offboarding – far above the global average of 30 per cent. But this raises an uncomfortable question: are Irish banks failing to offer compelling reasons for customers to stay engaged with their digital branches?
From supermarket to personalised boutique
The traditional supermarket model of banking – offering every financial product generically – is beginning to trail off. Today’s customers value a more bespoke, personalised approach over generic, overarching services. Think less wholesale and more boutique. More and more of this tailoring to suit the individual customer stems from innovations in audience data and anticipation of customers’ needs.
A recent survey by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland found that Irish people now expect instant access to real-time financial insights, faster loan approvals and proactive financial advice tailored to their spending habits.
“The institutions that stop thinking in terms of products and start thinking in terms of experiences will be the ones that succeed,” says Byrne. “The real challenge for banks isn’t just about keeping up with technology. It’s about curiosity – having the mindset to anticipate what’s next. The banks that are looking five years ahead, seeing around corners, those are the ones that will win. Banks that fail to adapt will lose their customers to those that do.”
With customers no longer tolerating slow, outdated processes, are Irish banks are keeping pace with their customers? “This is the question every banking leader should be asking right now,” says Byrne. “The days of unquestioned loyalty to one institution are long gone. If customers don’t feel valued, don’t get seamless service, don’t see innovation, they will move. And they should.”
With fintech disrupters like Revolut and N26 setting new expectations for speed and efficiency, traditional Irish banks face a stark choice: evolve or risk irrelevance. The technology is available – AI-driven underwriting, biometric authentication, real-time credit assessment – but Irish institutions must commit to using it.
“There’s real opportunity here,” says Byrne. “When we talk about banking, it’s no longer just talking about transactions. It’s about how people build their financial lives. Mortgages, savings, investments – these aren’t just financial products; they’re personal milestones, now available to us 24/7 and at the tips of our fingers or in our back pockets.
“The banks that grasp this concept will thrive. In the current climate, the future belongs to those that push the edge – those that experiment, innovate, and ultimately give customers what they want. The real leaders will be the ones who challenge the traditional role of banks in this space and offer something truly new and exciting.”
To learn more, visit deloitte.ie
