Millennials will
Dominate the Economy in the next Decade
First let’s look at the demographics. For years the baby
boomer generation dominated the economy, chiefly because it was such a large
population cohort. But, in the US as of 2011, millennials overtook the boomer
generation in terms of numbers. In America, they now make up 24 percent of the
population. In Asia and Africa, millennials now make up over 30 percent of the
population in most countries. On both continents, the middle class is growing
rapidly, and millennials are the age group most likely have the social mobility
to join the middle class.
What all this means is that over the next decade
millennials will come to be the dominant cohort within each economy. The trends
we are seeing now are likely to accelerate and persist. While those of us over
40 may think that making payments with a wristwatch or eyewear is a gimmick, we
should be aware that our opinions will matter less and less in the future.
Now let’s turn to the way millennials make payments. It’s
important to realise that someone classified as a millennial could be anywhere
between the age of 17 and 37, and their experience of technology and financial
services will be quite varied. The oldest amongst them turned 18 just as online
banking was emerging, while the youngest turned 18 the same year that Bitcoin
went mainstream.
It’s also important to realise that this is not so much
about online services, as it is about mobile services. Younger people do
everything they possibly can on their phone – smartphones are therefore a
central element of the payments industry. In the UK as many as 46 percent of
millennials own an iPhone, and in many western countries, as many as 98 percent
own a smartphone.
Younger millennials have been interacting with mobile
apps from an early age. Apps like Uber, Airbnb and even Tinder offer very
focused services. They don’t have a menu offering a confusing array of options,
just a very specific service which can be executed with two or three clicks.
When it comes to payment services, young people expect the same thing. They are
not interested in building a relationship with a service provider and they are
not interested in all the other services they have to offer.
A research report on
millennials and payments in the US market, conducted by Fico in 2014,
highlighted some interesting numbers. For instance, millennials are ten times
more likely to make use of peer-to-peer lending platforms than those over 50
are. Millennials are already twice as likely to use non-traditional payment
methods than those over 50. And, they are four times more likely to use mobile
payment apps.
Millennials are also less likely to have a job in the
traditional sense. It’s been said that in the future people will not have a job
and earn a salary, but complete tasks and get paid for each task they complete.
This may seem foreign to people over the age of 30, but for younger
generations, it’s already quite normal. However, when people give up the security
of a regular salary, they demand prompt, efficient payment in return. They
will, therefore, gravitate to payment methods that are quick and low cost.
In many cases, young workers must still accept payment by
cheque. But, give them another alternative and they’ll quickly take it.
The millennial generation are aware of the growing
occurrence of financial fraud and security breaches at large institutions. For
many, security is the number one factor when choosing an app or service
provider. They will think twice about using a service if they have any doubts
about the provider’s approach to security.
While older generations will naturally turn to banks for
financial services, millennials are quite happy to do their banking through the
likes of Apple and Google, as well as start-ups, provided they believe the
service is secure.
Most young people have used apps like Uber that can get a
cab to you in less than five minutes. Many have also made use of same day
delivery services from e-commerce vendors. They know that with Google Maps they
have access to real time traffic reports.
As a result, they have little patience for inefficient
banking services. If they must wait five days for a cheque to clear, they’ll
look for a faster alternative. If their balances don’t update in real time,
they will look for another service provider that can offer up to date
information. And, if a FICA or KYC process is drawn out and tedious, they’ll
quickly lose interest in opening an account.
The mechanism for making a transaction is less important
than the ease of use and security.
Most of the data on the millennials market comes from
Western countries. So, how does Africa differ? Africa’s millennials are
open-minded when it comes to technology and commerce, but still routed in
cultural tradition.
In the more developed economies like South Africa, the
emerging trends are very similar to those in Europe and North America. In other
countries, the major difference is the number of people who have never had
access to traditional banking services. In those countries there’s an even
bigger need for new, mobile payment services that aren’t connected to a bank
account. So, in many ways, Africa is the ideal market for non-traditional
banking services.
Where Africa differs, is with smartphone
penetration which is lower. Research firm, Ovum says in 2017 there were 293
million smartphones in Africa in 2017. But, they see
that growing at over 50 percent per annum which will take that number to over
900 million by 2021. That means the dynamics in the market in Africa will
change significantly in the next five years.
Traditional methods of making financial transactions are
by no means dead, even amongst millennials. But this growing generation are
eager to try new services, and whenever they get to replace a traditional
banking service with something better, they will.
Over the next decade, a new ecosystem of
financial services will emerge, and it won’t necessarily belong to the banks.
It will belong to whoever can offer the fastest, most efficient and safest
means of transacting. It will also be fragmented, with consumers using a
different service provider for each service. In other words, the market isn’t
restricted to the established players, but to anyone who can build a better
application or service
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