Our world is evolving due to the influx of Generation Z. Gen Z accounts for 32 percent of the world population. They are followed only by the Millennials at 31.5 percent.
This statistic means that the world has more people born between 1996 and 2012 than any other generation. And this generation has a great deal of influence on the global market, including the banking sector.
Gen Z is unique in that they came in the era of digitalization. Therefore, they are vast with the use of technological devices and are commonly found in social communities.
As a result of the technological influence on the lifestyles of Gen Z, technologically inclined banks such as Swissmoney have emerged to solve their financial needs.
This article will examine how Gen Z’s exposure to technology and their economic and financial decisions affect the future of finance and fintechs.
How Are Gen Z Reshaping the Finance Landscape?
The behavioral tendencies of Gen Z are totally different from those of their prior generations. As a result, they have brought about tremendous transformational and challenging changes in the finance landscape.
The technological demands of the generation have placed a lot of needs on businesses, including fintechs, to improve their services, communication strategies, and value delivery as models.
Since the generation has a high percentage of the world population, they become a significant fragment of the target audience of fintechs. Hence, financial institutions must start reconsidering how their business models and operations affect the generation to stay in business.
Below are ways the Gen Z are influencing the futuristic development of fintech;
Improvement in Financial Transaction Time
Gen Z are notorious for their short attention span in every activity they engage in. Their environment is highly stimulating as a result of the digital networks around them. With the availability of various digital platforms, Gen Z finds it hard to focus for too long on a single thing.
They have access to varying amounts of information and are very good at multitasking. Studies have even claimed that the attention span of Gen Z is only eight seconds. This means that to make this generation your customer, you’ve only got eight seconds to make them decide.
Fintechs, as a result of this, need to improve the transaction processes to accommodate this generation’s needs if they want to stay ahead in their game. Gen Z will likely look for financial platforms with the swiftest operations to carry out their financial transactions.
Development of Mobile App and Banking Platforms
For fintechs to stay at the top of their games with Gen Z as their customers, they must invest a lot into developing powerful, easy-to-use, and swift mobile applications.
Gen Z is endowed with access to a whole new way of experiencing life, which is totally different from what the generations ahead are used to.
Netflix, Gmail, Amazon, etc. are some examples of businesses that have reshaped the lifestyles of Gen Z. They do not need to rent films before they can watch their favorite actors; Netflix and other platforms have made it possible.
They do not need to post their mail and wait for days. With a single click on their devices, they can send emails in thousands daily. The same goes for shopping. This generation gets all they need at their fingertip without stepping out of their door.
Fintechs also need to focus on ensuring that their services are easily accessible through well-developed applications that are compatible with different devices.
Innovative Pricing Model
Gen Z has great taste in products or services at a low rate. As a result of their access to information online, they try as much as possible to be financially literate. And one of the lessons they learn is to reduce their expenses.
The abundance of knowledge has made it difficult for them to stay glued to specific brands. They are always on the lookout for novel and innovative ideas that can offer them superior benefits.
Fintechs are finding it hard to retain their customer base or enjoy loyalty from them. One way to make the generation stick to a business is to always come up with innovative means of pricing and offerings.
Generation Z is easily drawn to loyalty rewards or referral programs. The generation is reshaping fintech’s pricing model and offerings.
Reputational and Ethical Checks
If there is one thing Generation Z does not lack, it is information. They are quick to form opinions and make decisions based on the information they gain access to. Fintechs need to be careful with the social outlook they portray online.
They must be careful of the kinds of advertisements they run, the models or celebrities they are engaged with, and the social decisions they make. Many fintech founders and investors must be pious in their lifestyle and avoid scandals.
Negative publicity of any kind will have a heavy effect on the organization. Beyond scandals, fintechs need to ensure that they are safe and that they follow through with keeping the privacy of their customers intact.
Gen Z is wary of organizations with a profile of cyber-attack or data breach. Many of them do their due diligence to gather information online indicating whether an organization is safe for investment or not.
Fintechs must, therefore, protect themselves against any form of online theft or data breach in order to stay in business.
Strong Social Media Presence
Generation Z is influencing businesses to create identities for themselves online. The same need is expected of fintechs.
Fintechs now need to focus more on creating awareness on social media, where a large part of their target audience is situated. Beyond marketing, financial institutions also need to be actively involved online because it helps them identify with Zoomers.
Most discussions, disappointments, or distaste about any organization’s service or products are tendered online and by being present, fintech can know when their customers are not too happy with their service and they can make amends before it is too late.
Conclusion
Generation Z’s growth will improve their buying power and make them more important for financial organizations. For fintechs to be able to capture this growing market, they must be prepared digitally.
The secret to surviving the Generation Z market for any fintech lies in their capacity to innovate and evolve. They must be able to capture their attention through a fast, seamless, and swift transaction process and ensure they keep their reputations intact.
