What Millennials Really Want That Banks Don't Offer

The American Banker today has a great article on “How Community Banks Can Win the War for Millennials.”  It points out the importance of the age segment of 19 to 34 as they open most of the checking accounts, are heavy users of transaction services, carry good balances and provide credit opportunities.

The problem is most community and regional banks are rapidly losing transactions, relationships and revenues with this segment, particularly to non-bank payment alternatives.  Many think it is technology beyond the reach of community and regional bank legacy systems that is the culprit.  But in fact it is far simpler.  

Millennials love the debit card or other cards and use them heavily.  As a result, they want items returned rather than paid when they have insufficient funds.  With no record keeping of debit swipes and bank balances unable to reflect all transactions, this is how they manage their funds.  So they want what any community or regional bank can provide today:  a checking account that is return-all with no overdraft fees ever.  But almost no community or regional bank offers such an account.  Millennials must turn to the plethora of alternatives that do provide such accounts as shown below.

Many Serve Millennials with "No Overdraft Fee" Strategy 

Community and regional banks can quickly grow both Millennial transactions and accounts by simply configuring accounts they want.  The keys are:

-            - “Payments” branding.

-            -   Return all account status

-            -  No overdraft fees ever

-             -  Automate liquidity, like they can get with BillMeLater at PayPal.

The features, in fact, that PaySound^® brings uniquely to community and regional financial institutions.