More than 60% of millennial use a mobile device as their preferred banking method, according to a new report from Irvine, Calif.'s MFour Mobile Research's millennial Insights Project.
The study of more than 1,000 millennials focused on mobile, online and in-person banking practices as well as money management habits happening with this segment of the population.
Banking on the go: 61.2% of millennials prefer to bank with mobile apps, and 69.1% had done so during the previous week. Almost 83% used a mobile banking app during the past month. Mobile was the most preferred banking method across all racial and ethnic demarcations, age groupings, and income brackets. The groups most likely to make mobile banking their first choice were Hispanics (71.1%), and millennials with incomes of $75,000 or more (65.5%).
In-person banking: Only 18.1% of millennials prefer to bank in person. However, 63.9% said they visited a bank within the past month.
Desktop or laptop: Only 12.5% of respondents cited desktop or laptop computers as their preferred interface for banking. Despite that, 71.6% of millennials said they used a personal computer for banking during the past month, although the number fell to 66.7% for the youngest age bracket, 18-24. The younger millennials also were less likely to use a PC to make a payment, 51.1% in the past month, compared to 61.2% of all millennials.
Checking: Only 17% of respondents wrote a check during the previous week. Almost 27 percent said it had been six months or more since they wrote a check, and 24% said they never used a check. Eighty-seven percent of millennials have a checking account, more than any other banking product.
Apps top cash: Mobile apps such as PayPal and Venmo edged cash (34.5% to 32%) as the way millennials most prefer for transferring money to family and friends. "Do not write a gift check to a millennial if you can help it: only 10% said they prefer checks for transactions with family and friends," the MFour research noted.
Security issues: Asked how confident they are in the security of banking/finance apps, only 9.7% of millennials stated any concern. Almost 63% were confident or very confident, and 27.4% neutral.
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Roy Urrico
Roy W. Urrico specializes in articles about financial technology and services for Credit Union Times, as well as ghostwriting, copywriting, and case studies. Also: writer/editor of a semi-annual newsletter for Association for Financial Technology since 1997 and history projects funded by the U.S Interior Department, National Park Service and Warren County (N.Y.).
