New Study: One-third of Millennials Believe They Can Lead Bank-less Lives

Boston, MA | March 3, 2016 – A new study, from market research and consulting firm Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) and venture capital firm Foundation Capital, explores Millennial attitudes and behaviors toward banking and finance.

Key takeaways include:

• Millennials are not a homogenous group. Researchers conducted a segmentation of Millennials, revealing five distinct personas with varied brand preferences, attitudes, and behaviors (Success Driven Savers, Precarious Passives, Ambitious Adopters, Delayed Dreamers, and Fiscal Futurists). High-value segments (Ambitious Adopters and Financial Futurists) are eager for financial success, while others (Delayed Dreamers) are drowning in debt and student loans.
• Most Millennials still use traditional financial products and services. Just over a third of Ambitious Adopters and Financial Futurists—the most forward-looking of the segments—say they’re open to non-traditional financial services. However, Millennials overall have the same primary banking products as older generations, with the exception of more student loans, more debit cards, and fewer mortgages, money market accounts, and CDs.
• Millennials place considerable importance on finance apps and tools. Asked which apps and tools they could not live without, Millennials mention financial tools and apps (30%) at the same rate as apps used for texting and messaging (29%).

“Millennials are redefining banking,” says study co-author and CMB Account Executive Lori Vellucci. “While they still use many of the same traditional banking institutions as non-Millennials, roughly eight in ten Millennials are using online-only banking, payment, and investing resources like Venmo, Mint, and Apple Pay. Of particular note, they are twice as likely to be very open to the idea of banking and investing with entities they trust outside of the banking world, like Facebook and Google. These eye-opening findings should serve as a wake-up call to the industry—we must truly understand Millennials’ lifestyles, attitudes, and needs in order to successfully compete in the future.”

About This Research

This study was done as part of CMB’s self-funded Consumer Pulse program. A report with additional findings from this study is available as a free download from Chadwick Martin Bailey. Data was collected through research panel Research Now. The sample consisted of 1,055 Millennials (aged 21-30) with a minimum income of $25,000 and a minimum household income of $50,000 and a comparative sample of 422 Non-Millennials. Data are weighted to reflect Census distributions on age and gender. The survey was conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey and Foundation Capital in the fall of 2015.

About Chadwick Martin Bailey

CMB is an AMA Gold Top 50 market research and consulting firm partnering with a select group of the world’s leading brands to deliver critical insights for confident, strategic decision-making. CMB collaborates on game-changing initiatives, including brand health & positioning, customer journey & loyalty, market strategy, and growth & innovation. Learn more here.

About Foundation Capital

Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to the proposition that one entrepreneur’s idea, with the right support, can become a business that changes the world. The company is made up of former entrepreneurs who set out to create the firm they wanted as founders. This forward-thinking team of VCs has helped companies like Lending Club change the way money is lent and borrowed, Sunrun reinvent the residential clean energy market, and Netflix revolutionize media distribution and consumption, among many others. Foundation Capital is currently invested in more than 60 high-growth ventures in the areas of consumer, information technology, software, digital energy, financial technology, and marketing technology. Learn more here.

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