Eight out of ten young people do not set foot in a bank branch. However, more than half use dedicated finance applications on a regular basis, according to a recent public survey. Young people admit that they are concerned about their future and that they need more financial education, as well as the best possible advice before making certain decisions.
Our young people are self-sufficient, regular users of digital media, and thus have access to a wide range of products and services where they can compare and choose quickly. Immediacy, flexibility, convenience, and transparency reflect their preferences as digital consumers. This is also true when they demand financial services. In addition to these four qualities, banks offer them trust, privacy, and security, because using new technologies entails significant risks that every user must take into account.
The heavy investment in digitalization by Spanish banks, driven by technological development, responds to the demand of customers, including young people, a strategic segment for credit institutions. Digitalization and innovation translate into greater efficiency for banks and also into the possibility of offering a more specialized service tailored to their customers. In this way, the characteristics of our banking system are reinforced: competitive, innovative, and accessible to an increasingly broad public.
The services offered by banks have no age limit. The mortgage system has allowed more than 80% of families in Spain to own their own home, where the percentage of young families with financed home ownership is among the highest in Europe. It is the obligation of banks to help young people with their financial education and to accompany them in the various financial decisions they will have to make during the different family and professional stages throughout their lives. They did so with the parents and are willing and prepared to do so with the children through the model of relationship with their bank that they choose.
Digital innovation allows for the reduction of entry barriers in the provision of banking services, thereby increasing competition with non-bank entities, as is the case with recent regulatory changes. Banks, accustomed to competition and with a proven capacity for adaptation, view this process as an opportunity to offer new products and reach new markets, but they demand that new competitors be subject to the same regulatory and supervisory requirements for the good of the consumer. Authorities must also not overlook the potential adverse consequences of large technological platforms entering the financial sector. They must find a balance between maximizing their positive short-term effect on innovation and competition and the need to preserve consumer welfare and financial stability in the medium and long term.
Banks are aware of the need to do things right, to be responsible in their actions, and thereby reinforce the trust of their current and future customers. Young people are always the future, and banks are preparing to meet their needs with a range of services and products that are increasingly digital, mobile, and innovative. In this model transformation, banks will continue to guarantee the protection of information and the security of their customers, something that should be required of all competitors. The trust of young people in the reliability of bank services and products is key to competing in an increasingly digital environment.
José Luis Martínez Campuzano, Spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association
