Monica Eaton-Cardone Featured on TheStreet

eConsumer Services® Co-Founder Monica Eaton-Cardone Discusses Millennials, Banking and the Future of Finance

In 2015, Millennials surpassed Gen Xers for the first time in terms of their share of the US workforce. More than one in three American workers are now under the age of 35, placing Millennials as the largest generational share of American labor. Of course, as more and more Baby Boomers reach retirement age, the trend in these figures will only continue be more heavily weighted toward Millennials and, soon, Post-Millennials.

As such, young peoples’ tastes and desires are now the primary focus for most industries from lifestyle to consumer goods to finances.

The Times They Are a-Changin’

eConsumer Services®’ Monica Eaton-Cardone recently spoke with Brian O’Connell of TheStreet, offering her thoughts on how the new Millennial economy will bring about some dramatic changes for the banking industry in the years to come.

O’Connell cited a recent study released by Facebook, which suggests that many Millennials do not particularly like their bank. Even more telling, the study showed a whopping 92% of young people do not really trust financial institutions for sound guidance—this is, after all, the generation of people who came of age under the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis. According to Facebook’s report:

“What we found was that the vast majority of younger Americans are saving money and many have made paying down debt a priority.”

The report also suggested that Millennials are “ready for a new type of financial partner.” So what do Millennials want? According to Monica:

“Millennials look for banks who are willing to embrace this idea of organic and seamless functionality…Financial institutions who are best able to adapt to, and capitalize on these desires will likely be the most successful in capturing the Millennial market.”

Monica’s fellow commentator, digital marketing specialist Luke Rees further elaborated on the unique qualities of Millennials in regards to finance:

“Some of the qualities that characterize them include a tendency to borrow rather than buy and to trust in the ‘sharing economy’; to focus on quality, convenience and transparency over brand loyalty; and to use online networks when making financial decisions.”

Rees agreed with Monica, suggesting that banks will need to “work predominantly on their online offering” in order to attract Millennials. If banks fail to adapt and change to fit the tastes and preferences of Millennials, these young people will find alternatives to the conventional bank. While years ago this prospect might have been hard to picture, creative and highly tech-savvy young people can easily find a way, thus forcing the banks’ hands if they wish to survive.

Read the full article here.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is the co-founder of eConsumer Services®, as well as the COO of Chargebacks911 and CIO of Global Risk Technologies™. She is a widely-recognized expert in the fields of fraud prevention, payments, finance and IT.