Business & Technology
UK bank customers ready to quit over crime failures
KAREN JOY BACUDO
Finance Editor
ThetaRay has published a survey showing that 88% of UK banking customers would switch providers after failures to prevent financial crime. The findings suggest consumers are increasingly sensitive to anti-money laundering controls and sanctions breaches.
The survey of 1,023 UK respondents found that 87% would also discourage others from using a bank linked to money laundering or sanctions violations. Meanwhile, 81% said anti-money laundering effectiveness is now a leading factor when choosing a new financial provider.
The results indicate that customers no longer see compliance issues only as regulatory matters, but as part of the basic trust they place in a bank or fintech provider. That shift comes as consumers have more options to move accounts and compare digital services.
Even so, established banks remain dominant. The report found that 68% of respondents still rely on high-street banks, while 28% have integrated a fintech service into their main banking arrangements.
Trust and friction
The data highlights a tension between security checks and customer experience. While 88% of respondents said they currently trust their banks, that confidence appeared vulnerable when institutions failed to explain delays, account reviews, or transaction freezes.
The findings show that 96% of consumers want real-time transparency when a transaction is frozen. Repeated inconvenience from security checks would prompt 80% to change providers.
Digital onboarding emerged as another pressure point for banks and fintech groups. Seven in 10 respondents said the speed and clarity of onboarding determine whether they complete an application or abandon it.
The same concern extends beyond the first interaction. The report found that 96% now expect clear explanations of onboarding requirements and of security-related delays. In comparison, 92% said that vague requests, unexplained delays, or a lack of context during periodic customer reviews would reduce their trust.
Only 7% of those surveyed were neutral on that point, and none disagreed. The figures suggest many customers now see communication around compliance procedures as part of the service itself, rather than a separate regulatory process.
Rising penalties
The survey comes amid increased enforcement activity. ThetaRay cited publicly available data showing that regulators worldwide imposed penalties totalling USD $3.8 billion in 2025.
That environment appears to be shaping consumer expectations. The report found that 83% of respondents would actively consider switching providers if their bank or fintech company were fined heavily for financial crime violations.
ThetaRay argues that older rule-based monitoring systems are struggling to balance crime detection with customer convenience. Banks have long faced criticism for generating a high volume of false positives, which can lead to blocked payments, additional document requests, and account reviews that customers may find difficult to understand.
Brad Levy, Chief Executive Officer at ThetaRay, said the findings show how directly compliance now affects customer retention. “Compliance has moved from back office to front-line engine for customer retention,” he said.
He added that customer mobility has raised the commercial stakes for banks. “Switching banks is no longer a major barrier for consumers, and they expect trust, convenience and strong AML practices from their financial institutions,” Levy said.
Garima Chaudhary, Vice President, Financial Crime & Compliance AI at ThetaRay, said traditional systems are contributing to the strain.
“The data proves that legacy, rule-based systems are creating a double-edged risk: they are both too wide a net for modern criminals and too rigid for the modern consumer,” she said.
She said financial firms need a different approach to avoid reputational and customer losses. “For leaders, AI native infrastructure is now the only way to protect brand equity and prevent mass deposit flight,” Chaudhary said.
The research was conducted by Centiment on behalf of ThetaRay and was designed to be representative of the UK population across age groups. The findings underscore how far financial crime controls, once viewed mainly as an internal risk and regulatory concern, have become a visible part of the customer relationship.
Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.
The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”
Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.
It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.
Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.
This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.
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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.
The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.
Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.
It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.
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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.
The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.
It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.
Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.
“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.
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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.
The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.
Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.
Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.
The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.
To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.
Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.
Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.
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