Online banks and other digital financial services are super-popular among young consumers. The GenZ generation in particular has gown up with technology, especially smartphones and other mobile technology. They are increasingly moving away from brick and mortar banking and other financial institutions, and going online towards FinTech companies.
If you are a decision-maker, or high level stakeholder at a bank or other financial business, You may find yourself at a distinct disadvantage compared to a new FinTech that has been in a digital-only business model since day one.
However, you can still retain these young customers if you have a plan and the will to stick with the plan.
Despite the stereotype of the introverted young person who would rather interact with a machine instead of a human being, young consumers do value in-person, live interaction. Inexperienced financial services customers may even prefer to deal with a live person when they are not confident about finances and how to handle money. Especially in emergency or urgent financial matters, even the most hardcore young technocrat would probably prefer to deal with another person face-to-face in real time.
Banking managers would also do well to expand their online services, offer cryptocurrency, and work with digital payment services like Venmo (PayPal is for OLD people!).
Mobility may be the biggest differentiator between FinTechs and the brick-and-mortar financial service providers. As previously stated, GenZ consumers have grown up with technology, especially mobile computing, and they expect to be able to do any banking function they could do in person on their phones.
Offer online banking on your website, and build an app or two that allows for completely mobile banking experiences for your younger customers.
Younger consumers love games and they love rewards. Once you have built your banking app, figure out a way to gamify it. Offer rewards and prizes for young customers who deposit a certain amount of money in their savings account. Text them coupons they can remit at Starbucks or other businesses that they frequent. Promote your credit card rewards programs to your GenZ customers, many of whom are just starting their first “grown-up” jobs and embarking on well-paying careers. Hook them now, and keep them for life!
The key to recruiting and retaining young customers is to make banking, saving, and investing fun for younger people. Look at RobinHood for example. They have a very young and very savvy customer base who drove the stock price of Game Stop through the roof a few months ago, just for fun. As a stakeholder in a financial business, you may actually have some fun yourself trying to figure out how to make banking and other financial activities fun for your less experienced customers.
FinTechs might seem like a passing fad to an older, more experienced professional, but look out for some of these financial technology companies. You may wake up one day and find that brick-and-mortar banking is gone, and ALL financial business is conducted on phones, and not in-person anymore!
For an appointment with an office technology expert, please feel free to contact Edwards Business Systems by clicking here.