The Underbanked, Millennials, and Mobile Payments: Essential Fintech Reading Aug 1 - 5

 

The un(der)banked is FinTech’s largest opportunity

 

In their must-read 48-page white paper, PwC writes about the need to appeal to the unbanked and the underbanked. They say it's an opportunity that could bring $360 billion in 'unmet banking deposit demand' globally, with the biggest opportunities in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

 

The white paper also looks extensively at how to appeal to millennials, a demographic that is more interested in saving up for travel than saving up for retirement. Millennials are also digital natives, which makes them far more comfortable with  and more vocal in their demand for solid mobile solutions.

 

In their white paper, PwC includes a list of challenges financial institutions must overcome to reach millennials:

 

Millennials Prefer Mobile Wallets from Non-Banks

Jim Marous summarizes a report from CCG Catalyst Consulting Group about Millennials and mobile wallets. The report shows that Millennials overwhelmingly prefer options such as PayPal, Google Wallet, and Apple Pay to mobile mobiles from their financial institution. The Financial Brand repurposed this chart to show the breakdown:

Note that the survey must have asked for multiple answers because the total results far exceed 100%. The total of those who prefer brands created in the past two decades exceeds 115%, while the total of those who prefer more tradition brands (including banks, Visa, MasterCard, and Amex) is about 24%. This disparity is enormous, and doesn't bode well for traditional brands. Once Millennials and those younger than Millennials become the majority of consumers, traditional payments such as cash and checks (and possibly even debit and credit cards) will go away. Payments will be synonymous with a portable digital device such as a mobile phone. What's to stop PayPal or other players from combining with a major bank on the back-end, expanding their deposit services, and cutting out traditional players altogether?

Two California Groups Test Washington’s Tolerance for New Banks

The Wall Street Journal shows that since the 2008 financial crisis, there have been almost zero new banks in the United States. Increased regulation is likely one cause, as well as the fact that the economic environment (including interest rates remaining near zero) is still fraught with difficulties.