Banking on Millennials: Second Chance Banking and Digital Expectations

For many banks, dealing with millennials and their expectations is a challenge. Whether it’s because they move more often or because they are more frequently dissatisfied, many millennials tend to switch banks quite frequently.

Millennials also expect top-notch online banking options so they can access their bank details from anywhere they want and as quickly as possible. As you will see below, some statistics even show that the majority of millenials don’t trust banks to manage their finances.

What Do Millennials Expect From a Bank?

As stated above, millennials have a problem trusting banks, especially the big ones. One statistic from Millennial Disruption Index shows that 71% of people that reached adulthood in the early 21^st century would rather go to the dentist than trust a bank. This statistic is very alarming for banks who need this young generation as their upcoming customer base.

Due to the high cost of education, a lot of the income made by millennials is going towards student loans. Being left with less money to spend on groceries, healthcare and utilities, millenials are acquiring more debt compared to past generations. As such, they are pushing for better banking solutions, both on an individual and on a systemic level. Millennials do not want to stand in lines at the bank, they prefer online banking, and they want to manage their accounts through mobile apps.

Second chance banking for Millennials

Larger debts for millennials imply greater dependency on credit, which can lead to a bad credit score if not used wisely. This is where second chance banking comes in, thus giving people hope.  

Second chance banking is nothing new, but people find out about it only when they’re in distress. Big banks have already made it available a long time ago, in order to make things convenient for people that rely on credit.

To get a better understanding of what is second chance banking, let’s analyze a normal bank account. A normal bank account has lots of features, including some fees that need to be paid. Second chance banking allows you to open a new account when the others have been closed or denied due to bad credit or a blemished financial background.

In order for millenials to avoid the same banking mistakes they made in the past, they expect various features for their second account – low or no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirements, services such as debit card access, online bill pay, unlimited check writing privileges, and free daily or monthly maximum transaction amounts.

Because of the demands and circumstances of many millenials, second chance banking is an option that they look forward to as a result of bad credit.

To conclude, millennials can be really picky when it comes to their bank accounts and banking features, even if they have a bad credit score and a turbulent financial history. Second chance banking is a great option for those looking to strike a deal with the perfect bank and get their finances on track.