An EOS Holding survey found bank customers ages 18 to 34 in 11 European countries valued AI's availability and speed more often than older peers; separately, most survey respondents with payment difficulties wanted human involvement.
Among respondents ages 18 to 34, 60% valued AI's round-the-clock availability, compared with 47% of those ages 51 to 65. Faster communication appealed to 59% of the younger group and 48% of the older group. Forty-one percent of younger respondents said AI helped them keep track of their finances, versus 29% of older respondents.
EOS commissioned the online survey from market research firm PureSpectrum, which conducted it in July 2026. It covered 4,400 bank customers ages 18 to 65, with 400 people in each of 11 countries. Respondents were primarily or jointly responsible for managing their household finances. EOS said the sample was representative by age and gender.
AI chatbot use also varied by age: 28% of respondents ages 18 to 34 said they had used their bank's chatbots, compared with 13% of those ages 51 to 65. 14% of respondents ages 18 to 34 preferred AI for discussing payment difficulties, compared with 8% overall.
Among respondents who had experienced payment difficulties, 80% wanted a person involved, either from the outset or after an initial exchange with AI. Across the full survey, 60% said AI communication lacked a human touch. The survey results do not break the 80% figure out by age group.
EOS Holding's Nov. 10 release said 36% of respondents ages 18 to 34 had struggled to pay an installment to their bank. Separately, EOS's published survey results put at 30% the share of all respondents who had either struggled to pay an installment or exceeded an overdraft limit. The first figure describes installment difficulties; the second also includes overdraft-limit breaches.
EOS says its business includes investing in receivables portfolios and processing outstanding receivables. The survey records customer views and reported AI use; it did not measure whether AI changed payment outcomes or banks' costs. “Customers want AI that is not only reactive but also proactive,” Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group, said.
