BOSTON—A new study shows that Amazon and non-Amazon customers alike would be willing to try a free, online bank account if the online giant offered it.
The study from Bain & Company reveals that more than one-third of consumers who are not currently Amazon customers would take the account, while 65% of Amazon Prime customers would enroll in the product.
The report also shows that U.S. consumers give Amazon much higher loyalty scores than they give banks.
Amazon customers are valuable. They control 75% of U.S. household wealth, and account for about 75% of the wealthiest households’ assets, the study noted.
To stay competitive, financial institutions will need to innovate with their offerings while continuing to take out “bad” costs and complexity, the report said.
“Customers interested in banking with Amazon skew younger…Those who use only digital direct channels for payment also express more interest than average in Amazon’s entry. It’s worth noting, though, that even among younger consumers, who have the highest adoption of digital-only payments, the majority still use cash and checking as well,” the study said.