New research from Internet giant Cisco underlines the finding that the majority of consumers arewilling to provide their financial institution with access to moreof their personal information in return for more personalizedservices.

“The topline message is that the future of retail banking willbe defined by offering a higher degree of personalized services,”said Al Slamecka, marketing manager, Financial Services, forCisco.

He added, “It might begin with providing a greater degree ofcontrol to consumers. We will also see consumers thinking aboutinteracting versus transacting with banks through virtualchannels.”

The research offered a medley of numbers. For instance: whatconsumers most want in dealing with a financial institution oradvisor are availability (63%), competence (65%) and efficiency(68%).

Consumers also indicated a willingness to exchange more detailsabout their finances in exchange for greater protection fromidentity theft (83%), increased savings (80%), personalized service(78%) and greater simplicity (56%) in managing their finances.

A major finding: consumer comfort with virtual communicationschannels is increasing. Per Cisco's numbers, 71% indicate they arecomfortable with the increasing use of virtual communications inaddition to in-person financial conversations.

Slamecka elaborated that 34% of consumers said they were willingto do video chats with a financial adviser instead of person toperson,

He indicated that a worrisome data point is that the majority ofconsumers say their financial institution does not know enoughabout them to offer personalized services.

Another data point: 46% said they would be comfortable openingan account with a purely online financial institution.

“It's a mistake for financial institutions to believe that it'sonly in the branch where high-touch relationships with consumersare possible,” said Slamecka.