Can you guess Gen Y’s most used feature on a mobile phone? Here’s a hint: isn’t making phone calls. The most popular mobile feature among Gen Y is texting. Consequentially, the today’s hottest apps cater to Gen Y’s need to talk through their thumbs: Yik Yak, What’s App, Messenger and Kik being just a few examples. Unfortunately, mobile banking providers have missed out on this trend.
Very few FIs support chat with support specialists in online banking today. Despite this lack of bank support, 13% of consumers aged 18-24 used online chat the last time they had a question. That’s almost double the rate of all consumers.
Disappointingly, none of the top 30 FIs provide customer support chat in mobile banking. That’s forcing young customers out of their comfort zone and into costly channels like the branch. The alternative, text based customer support, is highly efficient. Support specialists can interact with multiple users at once. There’s every reason to make a change.
Every year, Javelin’s mobile practice ranks the top 30 FIs by their customer-facing mobile banking features. Here’s hoping this is the first year a top FI offers chat with support specialists through mobile banking. Gen Y will thank you for it.
