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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Younger Australians are embracing multichannel banking in a bid to manage their personal finances more effectively.
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According to Bankwest’s latest online transactions report, 95 per cent of Generation Y Australians and 93.8 per cent of Generation X prefer to do their banking online, compared to 78.4 per cent for Baby Boomers and 72.5 per cent for Pre-Boomers.
Local stores still remain an important part of banks’ multichannel approach, with many of Bankwest stores incorporating a range of interactive elements such as in-store tutorials and iPads.
Among older generations, however, face-to-face service is valued extremely highly.
More than half of Pre-Boomers and 40.1 per cent of Baby Boomers say they typically manage their banking with a visit to their local store, compared with about a quarter of Gen X and Gen Y.
“Younger Australians in particular have been quick to embrace the move towards multichannel banking,” Bankwest’s retail executive general manager Mark Reid said.
“The convenience and greater transparency of online transacting is increasing younger people's familiarity with their banking and helping them manage their finances more effectively.”
The findings of the report, the latest addition to the Bankwest Financial Indicator series, align with Bankwest’s Financial Fitness Index in April which showed Generation Y Australians are increasingly more interested in their banking and are becoming more conservative with their money.
According to the Bankwest online transactions report, Gen Y engages most often with their finances, with almost half saying they use the internet for banking several times a week – 5.7 per cent do so several times a day.
“It’s not surprising that Gen Y is more engaged with online banking, but the fact that some of them check their balances several times a week and even several times a day suggests they are extremely engaged with their personal finances, which is encouraging,” Mr Reid said.
