CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—Millennials have identified the features they see missing from bank apps, according to a new report, that also found, perhaps not too surprisingly, that Millennials are also more likely to indicate that certain features are missing from their banking app when compared to the older generations.
SNL Financial’s Mobile Money consumer survey also reveals that there are a few mobile banking app features that Millennials are more likely to use.
Across the board, Millennials are more likely than other respondents (age 36-plus) to indicate that features are missing from their mobile bank app. The feature most often considered missing by Millennial bank app users is savings account rates (19% for Millennials compared to 12% for all other age groups). A close second was a mortgage calculator, a feature in which older respondents were far less interested. Deltas were also fairly large for paying bills and ATM locators, the study shows.
Person-to-person payments, a feature requested by both Millennials and other respondents, is quickly becoming an industry standard, noted SNL. As six of the largest U.S. banks are members of the clearXchange service, financial institutions may struggle without a person-to-person payment feature, SNL observed.
Similar to their interest in mortgage calculators, Millennials would like to see mortgage rate comparisons as part of their bank app. All three mortgage-related features listed were selected more often among Millennials than other respondents.
Millennial bank app users, especially older Millennials, indicated that they would use a feature that allowed them to view checking account rates. “This interest in account rates may be tied to the interest in branchless bank accounts that offer higher interest rates or even interest-earning checking accounts,” SNL said.
Not only do Millennials have an increased desire to see more features available in their mobile bank app, they also say they are more willing to switch FIs in order to get those features, the study shows. When asked about switching financial institutions in order to receive desired features, Millennials, were more likely than other respondents to consider the switch, SNL reported.
SNL Financial's Mobile Money survey was conducted online in February across a nationwide sample of smartphone bank app using adults.