The non-profit research firm BAI has released a new generational banking preferences report.
The report aims to understand how each generation: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Boomers prefers to bank.
Due to technological innovation continuing to bring traditional in-person services remotely, financial services (ex. consumer banking) included, accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic, readers might expect that consumers are steadily adopting digital channels to bank.
And yes, Digital change is seen in two generations: Gen Z and Millennials.
“Gen Z is Mobile-Centric they prefer to open deposit accounts through a mobile app, and by a significant margin.”
– BAI Banking Outlook Special Report: Banking Attitudes, Generation-by-Generation
“Millennials Want a Better Mobile Experience”, and “Millennials are Comfortable with Digital Advice”
– BAI Banking Outlook Special Report: Banking Attitudes, Generation-by-Generation
These results are consistent with what Mercator Advisory Group finds in their own surveys. Industries participating in this market are pivoting to capture this digital demand. In particular, financial services and big tech. Big tech because they are enabling these services on their own tech devices, and financial services because they are hosting the service through the device. This consumer study showing changing consumer demand highlights the following market response to capture profits:
- Significant increase in partnership/joint products between financial services and big-tech firms.
- Traditional financial institutions investing in tech.
- Big-tech learning the financial industry and creating their own financial services/ancillary services.
- Fintech firms developing.
Earlier in March, Payments journal published an article that previewed an example of these effects: A financial services “super app” that would be a “one-stop-shop financial app that consolidates financial information and allows a connection in one place”.
Overview by David Nelyubin, Research Analyst at Mercator Advisory Group