European Businesses Reported Stifled Growth From Banking
Financial providers that lag in digital innovation leave business owners struggling with manual, slow processes.
Updated on Oct. 13, 2026 in Financial Services
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Do you trust that your business banking tools are as efficient as your personal banking apps?
According to a new CRIF research report, 41% of European businesses believe a lack of financial services innovation is actively hindering their growth. Companies report that their professional banking experiences fall short of the speed and convenience they expect from personal consumer finance.
Why it matters
Business operators face ongoing operational drag because financial providers prioritize consumer products, leaving corporate clients to manage workflows with manual, outdated processes. The gap between personal and business banking standards increases administrative overhead and complicates access to essential credit.
CRIF found that 56% of businesses still rely on manual banking processes, while 54% express a clear preference for app-based access to finance. Additionally, 52% of respondents report that meeting current business finance eligibility requirements has become increasingly difficult.
The players
CRIF
An international business information and credit bureau that provides data-driven analytics and reports on financial service trends.
The details
The report highlights a significant service disparity, with 57% of businesses reporting that financial services for companies are slower than those offered to individual consumers. This reliance on legacy paperwork and manual transactions forces firms to divert labor toward administrative banking tasks. Consequently, nearly half of all businesses surveyed feel prioritized less by their service providers than private retail banking customers.
Timeline
2014: The CMA retail banking market investigation was launched.
June 2026: The first Banking on Banks report was released.
October 13, 2026: CRIF published the second Banking on Banks report.
Market Landscape
This study arrives over a decade after the 2014 CMA retail banking market investigation sought to force higher levels of competition in the sector. The data suggests that for business operators, these regulatory efforts have failed to close the innovation gap between retail and commercial service delivery.
Business owners should audit their current banking stack to determine if manual, paper-based workflows are unnecessarily inflating back-office labor costs. It is worth evaluating whether a switch to a more digitally integrated provider could reduce friction in eligibility processing and service speed.
The takeaway
The persistent gap in innovation means businesses must actively demand better digital tools from their current lenders to avoid competitive disadvantages. Operators should track the percentage of time their staff spends on manual financial tasks to quantify the true cost of their bank's legacy infrastructure.
Further reading
For more on the current state of industry regulation, visit the Financial Services section.
Live Poll
Do you trust that your business banking tools are as efficient as your personal banking apps?
