Young consumers shun online banking

Despite being brought up in an age of technological advances, young consumers still prefer to bank the old-fashioned way, according to new U.S. research.

by Helen Leggatt

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A U.S. study by Mintel found that only a third (33 percent) of 18-34 year olds are using online banking services. The remainder continues to use offline services and products, although the uptake of credit cards amongst the same age group has been falling over recent years.

The reason around 40 percent of them gave for shunning online banking was that they didn’t trust internet transactions and had concerns about security, despite the continuing rise in security and consumer protection.

“Financial services companies continue to elevate their level of safety and security messaging to their consumers, but it is interesting that the Echo Boom and Gen X groups do not necessarily have their fears laid to rest,” said Susan Menke, senior financial services analyst for Mintel. “The fact that many of them still rely upon human interaction for their banking is actually surprising, given the fact that these generations have grown up with the Internet already being a staple in American culture.”