Friday, April 14, 2017

Millennials and Banking : An Indian Prespective

Millennials - the fastest growing customer base : A Banking PoV 

The fastest growing customer base is changing the way banks do business. Born between 1980 and 2000, Millennials are the largest generation in Indian history . 

It seems like every company is trying to tap into the Millennial market. And for good reason: this year, Pew is predicting they will overtake the Baby Boomers in number, with around 75 million people in the U.S. under 34. And they are reaching an age of independent consumption, starting to have children, and becoming a presence in the workforce.


By 2021, millennials will make up over 50% of the work force in India.  


But they don’t think banks have what they need. 



  • 71% would rather go to the dentist than listen to what banks are saying .
  • 53% don’t think that their bank offers anything unique
  • 68% say that the way we access our money will be totally different in 5 years
  • Nearly a quarter cite lack of a mobile app as the main barrier to bank engagement                        
Millennials want digital solutions to manage their money and help them build their finances. 

Digital Natives - 77% say their mobile phone is always with them . 
  • 3x Three times more likely to open a new account with their phone vs. in person
  • 61% say that mobile has made tracking and spending their money better
  • 67% Vs. of millennials 50% of other customers want digital budgeting tools from their bank 
Banks that offer digital services are better positioned to engage Millennial customers which includes -

  • Mobile Payments
  • Budgeting tools 
  • Mobile banking 
  • Wealth Management 

Saturday Night Live recently featured a sketch poking fun at Millennials. It opens with a young woman frantically texting on her iPhone, approaching her boss and asking for a promotion. The boss asks how long she’s been with the company. She replies, “Three days.”

While pithy descriptions of what makes Millennials unique are presented as self-evident and seem to have a ring of truth to them, very few are supported with solid empirical research. On the contrary, a growing body of evidence suggests that employees of all ages are much more alike than different in their attitudes and values at work. To the extent that any gaps do exist, they amount to small differences that have always existed between younger and older workers throughout history and have little to do with the Millennial generation per se.


Everyone gets it. Conventional wisdom holds that Millennials are entitled, easily distracted, impatient, self-absorbed, lazy, and unlikely to stay in any job for long. On the positive side, they’re also looking for purpose, feedback, and personal life balance in their work. Companies of all kinds are obsessed with understanding them better.

The fascination with Millennials has given rise to a new consulting industry. Hundreds of firms, speakers, authors and individual experts are vying for a share of the “Millennials are Different” segment of the $150 billion-a-year global HR consulting market. A dizzying array of books, seminars, and articles such as Ties to Tattoos and “Dude, What’s My Job? Managing Millennials in Today’s Workforce” promise to help turn generational differences into an asset. There’s even a consultancy that specializes in helping other consultants hone their message to tap into this lucrative market.


For millennials, pressing social problems are not just the preserve of philanthropists or governments. Millennials consistently cite social impact as one of the most important roles of business. Of all the generations alive today, millennials are the most willing to trade financial return for greater social impact, according to “Millennials and Money,” a 2014 study from Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group.

These opinions matter. Millennials are poised to share in the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in human history — one widely-cited estimate puts its value at $41 trillion in the United States alone by the year 2052.


If you reach Millennials now, they will likely stay as loyal customers as they become ready for traditional bank products and services.

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