Quarter of young Brits say Google, Apple, and Amazon would do a better job with banking than their actual bank, according to new survey

Banks need to work harder 'to attract custom of this generation', warns money expert

Aftab Ali
Wednesday 29 July 2015 05:47 EDT
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(Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

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Almost a quarter of young Brits believe tech companies, such as Google, Apple, and Amazon, would do a better job with banking – than their actual bank.

The findings emerged after online price comparison site, uSwitch.com, surveyed just over 1,000 young people, aged between 18 and 34, to get their views on the financial challenges being faced by their generation.

When asked which organisations would do a better job than a traditional bank of offering financial products in the way they needed them, 24 per cent said the tech giants – which also included Facebook and Samsung – would do a better job at keeping in touch with their age group.

The results also showed a major shift in the way young people in the UK are banking today, with 59 per cent saying they haven’t set foot in a branch over the last three months. Another 77 per cent said they now choose online banking instead.

As millennial customers continue to look for easy-to-digest advice to help them with their short-term financial goals, 22 per cent said they have never deposited a cheque and a further 62 per cent have not taken advantage of the mortgage services on offer with their bank.

Despite an increasing number of young Brits using online and mobile services to bank with, many want to see improvements made within this area.

67 per cent said they would like to receive notifications for when their bills are significantly higher than usual, with 65 per cent answering they want to see the fraud team at their bank automatically alerted if transactions take place from a different location to their smartphone.

Money expert at uSwitch.com, Nicolas Frankcom, described how the research showed young people clearly don’t feel banks are meeting their needs and said: “Millennials have unique needs and, so far, most banks seem to be missing the mark when it comes to catering for these.”

Issuing banks with a warning, he added: “The banks must work harder, with more innovation around relevant products and services, if they are to attract the custom of this generation. If they don’t, someone else will.”

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