Banks are changing, even if they might not want to. And it turns out that you can thank Millennials for that.
Following the financial crisis of 2008, banks began raising fees and implementing policies that made it too expensive for consumers to keep using them. This trend has stayed constant up until today.
Policy makers have expressed concern about this trend and have offered some solutions to help mend the problem. But new research from Packaged Facts suggests this trend is growing, and joining the 7.7% of American adults who don’t have a bank account are consumers who don’t believe they need one.
This report shows that Millennials don’t want traditional checking and savings accounts but prefer to use mobile applications to access their money online. Millennials are less likely to use cash, preferring to use plastic for ease of convenience.
Because of the rise of the credit card, banks have unsurprisingly seen a steady decrease in employment over the last few years along with a shift in the hiring process for available jobs.
British banks are taking their Millennial customers’ interests to heart. This week brought the launch of the U.K.’s first digital only bank, Atom Bank. They boast no branches and have users log into their accounts by taking a selfie.
Edward Twiddy, the bank’s COO, commented to the Financial Times, “Look how quickly a 20-year-old takes a selfie of themselves — there is a familiarity with apps that thrive on the quick capture of information, images in particular.” Atom Bank’s goal is to give Millennials something different from what their parents had at their age.
Back in the States, however, Packaged Facts believes if the banks don’t adapt to their younger clientele, there could be bad news on the horizon.
