Lynne Cornelison

Financial experts on morning television – and American consumers in general – acknowledge that financial education is a valuable and important part of their economic health.  They admit that understanding personal financial concepts directly impacts their financial achievement.   Our latest research, however, finds American consumers barely participate in financial literacy programs.  Couple that low participation rate with the consumers’ inflated sense of their own financial literateness: any institution would question whether or not it’s worth the investment to offer a financial education

Social media is a staple of everyday life, and most financial institutions are spending time, money and effort to build their profile on social media.  In that light, Raddon explores the influence of social media on consumers’ financial decision process in our recent study, Payments Insights: Rise of the Digital Pioneers.

Most people have become omnichannel consumers of financial services, particularly mobile banking users. Consumers adopt new channels as they emerge as complements to existing channels instead of replacing older delivery channels. ATMs did not supplant branches, just as online banking did not supplant ATMs, for example.

Experiences increasingly trump material goods for many consumers. While this concept doesn’t bode well for retail sales this holiday season, it is a fresh, somewhat pleasant way to live. This trend may be moving to the financial services industry, as consumers, particularly millennials, place increasing value on an experience – financial education to help make more informed or effective decisions about money.

Developing deeper relationships with the customer is certainly not a new concept, but definitely an approach financial institutions should embrace in an effort to meet growth and earnings goals. This is particularly true for business customers’ needs.