Chase’s most recent survey examines consumers’ relationship with cash, savings and digital banking tools one year after the start of the pandemic.
Consumers Want More Personalisation
Consumers want their bank to offer personalised tools and information to make them more informed about their savings and spending habits:
- Gen Z are Early Adopters: 79% of Gen Z respondents said they would want more personalised offers or information from their banks to help them achieve their financial goals and save at their favourite retailers.
- Personalisation Boosts Savings: 41% of respondents wish their bank provided more personalised offers or information to help them achieve their financial goals, and save at their favourite retailers.
- 48% of respondents believe personalised banking data, such as their spending habits, would help them to make changes in how they spend their money
Digital Features Offer Convenience
A strong majority of consumers cited they prefer to deposit money into their account using a mobile app. Mobile deposit options, like Chase QuickDeposit, provide flexibility to consumers, allowing them to deposit checks from virtually anywhere.
- Deposit Dependency: 89% of respondents use a mobile app to deposit money at their bank.
- Mobile Deposits Increase from Baby Boomers: More than half (52%) of Baby Boomers are now using mobile apps to deposit money in the bank.
- Shared Preferences: Almost equal percentages of men (91%) and women (87%) use a mobile app to deposit money at their bank.
Contactless Payments and Cash Usage
As the pandemic moved into 2021, consumers continued to favor contactless payments. Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, like Zelle, provide convenience and security to consumers when making payments, with some consumers still not comfortable using cash post-vaccine. The survey found that:
- Cash hasn’t been recrowned the king, yet: 13% of Baby Boomers and Gen Z agreed they would not feel comfortable using cash again, even post-pandemic.
- Contactless Payments are a Must: 47% of respondents have started or continued to use contactless payment options in 2021 to avoid physical interactions amid the ongoing pandemic.
- Convenience is Key: 73% of overall respondents also believe contactless payments are a more convenient form of payment.
Saving Is A Priority
As found in Chase’s 2020 Digital Banking Attitudes Study, 40 % of respondents said they looked forward to contributing more to their savings accounts in 2021 and believed automated tools would play an important role. The new survey found:
- The majority of respondents are using automatic saving features: 84% of respondents cited they currently use digital tools for saving, like Chase Autosave, which allows consumers to set up automatic and customised savings preferences.
- Mobile apps help improve saving habits: On average, 41% of respondents believe seeing their credit and debit card usage, understanding their cash flow and reviewing their top spending categories would help them adjust their money management habits.
This information is based on a survey fielded between April 23-26, 2021 among 2,005 men and women, between the ages of 18 to 57+.
As of Q2 2021, Chase has nearly 57 million digitally active customers (+10% YoY) and roughly 43 million mobile active customers (+ 10% YoY).
