Eighty-six per cent of Australian consumers consider a traditional bank with branches to be their primary financial services provider but more than 30 per have used a non-bank provider in the past 12 months and more than 40 per cent would consider alternative providers for future needs, such as mobile payment services, credit cards and personal loans.These are among the findings of a new Ernst & Young survey of retail bank customers, The Relevance Challenge, which concludes that the relevance of traditional banks appears to be waning.EY surveyed 55,000 retail bank customers in 32 countries, including 2000 in Australia. It found that the combination of changing consumer behaviour, increased competition from new entrants and a loss of trust in banks spelled bad news for banks.Many banks are ill-equipped to deal with the demand for digital services that operate 24/7 and can be personalised, while fintechs are establishing credible businesses.Australian respondents were "significantly more likely to trust alternative financial service providers" than traditional banks.EY banking customer leader for Oceania Rob Colwell said customers trust traditional banks to look after their money and keep their data secure but only 20 per cent have complete trust that they will get unbiased advice.Colwell said this response reflected customer confusion about the complexity of the products offered by traditional banks and also the taint of recent financial planning scandals.One interesting finding was that 47 per cent prefer digital banking channels but only 31 per cent are confident they can manage their own finances, which suggests that financial institutions have an opportunity to give customer digital financial management tools.Colwell said traditional banks had to focus more on the needs of their customers and less on product sales.