How we access banking services is undergoing seismic change, with PYMNTS research finding that nearly 70% of bank account holders use online accounts, and almost one-third of those have accounts with online-only banks.
An important finding tying this together is the fact that about half of online account holders check their accounts via digital devices once or more daily. That makes verification friction a customer experience issue, and one that banks and financial institutions must solve.
In the study, “The Future Of Authentication In Financial Services,” a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration, we surveyed over 2,700 consumers to identify the extent of digital banking usage and the factors users find most important in what’s become a daily routine for millions.
Which channels consumers choose to engage with their digital accounts impacts everything from experience to loyalty. According to the study, 25% of consumers like using multiple channels for access. We found that 37% of bridge millennials and 36% of millennials “toggle between different means of accessing accounts” from mobile to browser.
By contrast, 65% of baby boomers and seniors prefer computer-based web browsers.
Online access to sensitive banking and financial information, once a source of anxiety, is now trusted by a high number of account holders, especially when backed by a trusted brand.
Per the study, “data shows that 71% of respondents use online accounts with financial services providers and that most are very comfortable with these accounts. Modern options still come from legacy entities: 39% of online accounts are with a retail or commercial bank with physical branches, and 72% who hold these accounts find these providers to be ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ trustworthy.”
A big reason people like digital accounts — and less friction when accessing them — is that consumers like to check balances, transactions and more anywhere and any time.
“Millennials are the generational cohort that view their online accounts the most often: 65% of them log in to their financial accounts daily. Bridge millennials are right behind them, with 63% saying they do the same. The generation that views its online financial accounts least often is baby boomers and seniors, with 21% saying they access these accounts monthly or less.”
Get the study: The Future Of Authentication In Financial Services: Engaging Consumers Across Channels And Devices
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