Millennials: Are conventional banks fast enough?

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“So haben wir es immer gemacht“ is not going to be fast enough!

As a Millennial, I like to think that the way we handle our finance is in many ways very different from previous generations. This can be especially noticeable taking a closer look at our lifestyle choices - how we shop (online), where we like to bank (online) and most importantly the social causes we support. From my observation, these attributes form a general trend among most "millennials" I have met, regardless of where we come from, live or our economic status.

According to a report by Accenture:

"This generation (millennials) moves fast. And as a business, you need to constantly evolve to keep their attention. That means continually auditing everything from your pricing strategy to your marketing efforts to the design of your store".

To strive among Millennials, many businesses are now having to evolve their marketing strategy to cater to the concerns of this demography. And for many of us, sustainability and environmental protection are very important concerns. More specifically, environmental considerations here take into account issues like climate change and the related risks (e.g. natural disasters). Social considerations, on the other hand, refer to issues of inequality, inclusiveness, labor relations, investment in human capital and communities.

For instance, within the financial industry, we already see an emerging trend known as 'Green finance' that generally refers to the process of taking due account of environmental and social considerations when making investment decisions, leading to increased investment in longer-term and sustainable activities. Across the globe, banks are now paying attention to our environmental and social consideration in building and defining their products offerings.

A year ago, I travelled through West Africa. While there, I witnessed first-hand the emergence and activities of several banks and financial institutions tailored specifically to offer millennial friendly financing and products in both urban and rural areas.

And thanks to the high penetration of smartphones and high-speed internet, these banks are able to provide mobile banking services that can be carried out seamlessly without their customers physically visiting a bank. Just about a decade earlier, this would have been impossible to imagine in these African countries. 

In Germany, the experience has not been different. Many banks and financial institutions are making efforts to adapt their business strategy to capture the interests of this new generation. However, the challenge I still see particularly for many conventional banks here is:

Will they ever be fast enough?