Fiserv sponsored a survey of the Gen Y demographic and found they are hooked on mobile bill pay and banking, proving that Baby Boomers have truly slipped into the unhip generation they thought they’d never be.
Thirty-three percent of Gen Ys – those between 21 and 29 years of age – conducted mobile banking in the last month, compared to 11 percent of Boomers and 43 percent plan to pick up the mobile banking habit within the next year. Fifteen percent plan to receive and pay bills soon on their mobile phones.
This group is more likely to have debit cards and savings accounts than any other generation, and rely heavily on other people and online information when making financial product decisions. The Fiserv-commissioned survey, conducted by Accelerant Research in 2009, was supplemented by ethnographic research, consisting of one-on-one consumer interviews, to better understand the consumer sentiment behind the survey findings.
"It is clear that Gen Y is actively seeking new accounts as their financial needs evolve," said Geoff Knapp, vice president of Online Banking and Consumer Insights, Fiserv. "This is a formative period for financial institutions to establish strong relationships with Gen Y, and the survey reinforces how important it is for institutions to deliver accessible banking services that will satisfy these consumers' comprehensive needs."
Gen Y consumers have sought the largest number of banking services within the past year. Thirty-six percent opened a debit card, savings or primary checking account, ten percent higher than any other generation. They are more likely to sign up for and use new accounts and services online, versus at physical branches. In fact, 48 percent of Gen Ys with a credit card signed up for the card online. Thirty-six percent of those were with personal loans applied for the loan online.
Eighty percent of Gen Y has used online banking within the past month, a higher percentage than any other generation. Fiserv has shown in other surveys that this group has a propensity to visit multiple websites to gather information and accomplish tasks, such as signing up for financial accounts.