UK financial services firms’ efforts to grow their robo-adviser ranks are leading the rest of the world, fresh analysis from PwC has found. As both global financial services (FS) powerhouses and agile market entrants vie to harness technological advances and retain – or poach – consumers, 37 percent of UK firms surveyed have implemented robotics processing automation (RPA) compared to only 28 percent globally.

Rav Hayer, UK fintech leader and PwC partner, said: “We’re seeing a growing shift towards hybrid-human and robo-advice strategies, with even some of the pure-play robo-advisers hiring humans. “Most consumers want the reassurance of some human oversight alongside access to a human adviser for key decisions. FS firms face a dilemma on how to balance the need for that human interaction with the digitally enhanced offerings customers also expect.

“The fact that personal human contact is globally near the bottom of the list of ways in which some executives think FinTech should be used to retain customers raises questions about the balance.”