Banks could be the next business sector to face disruption from nontraditional rivals, if a new study from Accenture is any indication, writes RealtyTrac’s Peter Miller.
According to the study, nearly half of consumers said they would likely bank with a company they currently do business with but that does not currently offer banking services, such as PayPal and Square. That figure jumps to more than 70 percent among those ages 18 to 34.
Moreover, 40 percent of consumers ages 18 to 34 said they would consider banking with Google, while 37 percent would consider banking with Amazon and 34 percent would consider banking with Apple.
“[C]ustomers want a bank that’s nimble and proactive, one that can be a part of their daily lives. The idea of ‘convenience’ in banking is undergoing a shift away from branch locations and toward digital products and services that mesh with consumers’ ‘smart’ mobile-empowered lives. Also, banks that cling to the status quo risk being viewed over time more like utilities that conduct financial transactions,” Accenture said.
New competition from such players could help hold down mortgage rates, Miller writes.
But it will not be easy for such companies to enter the lending space, he added. Consumers consider traditional banks less trustworthy now than they did before the financial crisis, but tech companies have trust issues of their own as security breaches become more and more commonplace.
Source: realtytrac.com
