When it comes to their money, millennials are playing it closer to the vest than most financial analysts expected. A recent report from VocaLink, a builder and operator of payment systems, revealed 25 percent of millennials have stopped using their smartphones to make mobile payments due to security concerns.
Money must be on their minds. Mobile payments are used by 52 percent of millennials, and 70 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to use a new mobile payment service if it was offered by their bank. The survey, which polled more than 5,000 millennials across the country, found the respondents viewed their own bank as the most secure option.
“Surprisingly, the element of ‘trust’ and ‘security’ was a priority for many of the millennials we spoke to, and as a result felt strongly that their bank was the preferred provider of payments technology,” Cara O’Nions, VocaLink’s director of marketing and customer insights, said in a release.
So what would millennials like to see? Two-thirds of respondents stated they are more interested in finger print biometrics than a chip or pin number.
“It is clear they still want to see further innovation from all payment providers, to respond to their need for ubiquitous and reliable instant mobile payments,” O’Nions said. “At this stage, while a number of fintechs are still in the process of developing and fine-tuning their products and services, the banks have a substantial head start to provide or support a superb customer experience.”
Jim Marous, co-publisher of The Financial Brand, told American Banker that millennials still care about the personal touch of banking. However, the demographic will judge a bank on its digital capabilities.
“The most recent J.D. Power Retail Banking Satisfaction survey found that large banks had a higher satisfaction rating than both community banks and credit unions for the first time ever,” Marous said. “This change in fortune for the once-hated ‘big banks’ was a direct result of the higher satisfaction around digital banking service offerings.”