Fintechs target millennials with online financial services

Millennials, a demographic group born between 1980 and 2000, make up one of the largest living generations and have now overtaken the baby boomers.
Millennials are likely to fall into three categories:
• Inheritors: With wealthy parents, they are major consumers while they wait to inherit.
• Strivers: Coming from a more modest background, they are studying, saving and working hard with ambitions for promotion. They will borrow to support their lifestyle, not unlike inheritors.
• Given-ups: They are more likely earning a low salary but continue to consume as much as the other two categories. Buying a house is not on the agenda, so they do not see the point in saving.
Millennials have been called the “smashed avocado” generation, as some would rather spend money on brunch and takeaway coffees than save, for various reasons, depending on the category to which they belong.
While millennials may have wider lifestyle choices compared with their parents, they are the unlucky generation in the housing stakes. Buying a house for many is an unattainable dream. But conversely, growing up in the internet age has opened a treasure chest of opportunities that were not available to previous generations. And the arrival of the smartphone has revolutionised the way people communicate, bank, shop, and more. In particular, the possibilities of online investing, lending and saving are changing the way they and future generations manage their finances.
With the arrival of financial technology, or “fintech”, which offers new solutions for financial services using technology and innovation, the opportunities abound for the tech savvy generation. Fintechs are targeting those that have fallen out of love with banks and other traditional financial services. And 71 per cent of millennials, according to Viacom’s Millennial Disruption Index, would rather go to the dentist than to the bank.