Page 30 - ASSET MANAGER 11 (EN)

30 • BITKOM RESEARCH
EVERY THIRD GERMAN IS READY FOR
AN ACCOUNT AT & CO.
The company Bitkom Research carried out the following survey on behalf of the Bitkom digital association. The results should also interest Swiss banks.
Study: Bitkom Research, Berlin
Only senior citizens are reluctant when it comes to online banking:
• 7 out of 10 Germans do their banking on the Internet
• Every eighth wants to switch to a pure online bank
in the next twelve months
• A bank's digital offerings are more important to
customers than a well-known brand
Taking a picture of a bill with a mobile phone and con- veniently transferring the money, instead of filling out a bank transfer slip by hand and handing it in at the bank counter the next day: For the vast majority of Germans, online banking is part of everyday life today. Seven out of ten Germans over the age of 16 (70%) now use online banking, compared with only 62 % a year ago . This is the result of a representative survey of 1005 citizens. There are clear differences depending on the age group. For exam- ple , 85 % of 16 to 29-year-olds are online banking users, while among the 30 to 49-year-olds, the proportion is as high as 93%, and among the 50 to 64-year-olds it is still 83 %. Only seniors aged 65 and over are still cautious, with a share of 21%. "Online banking is already the absolute
standard today and will continue to spread in the com- ing years," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. "For banks and savings banks, the digitization of the financial indus- try and changed customer behavior mean a fundamental change that offers established providers as well as digital companies and innovative fintechs huge opportunities."
For the first time, digital offerings are as important to customers as personal advice
The trend towards online banking is likely to continue in the coming years. For the first time, two-thirds of German citizens (67%) use digital services such as online banking or banking apps to select their bank. A year ago, it was still at 57% – significantly less. At the same time, the im- portance of personal advice at the counter has decreased from 73 % to 67 %. This means that more customers value digital offerings than, for example, the presence of many bank branches that are easy to reach (58%) or a well- known brand (56 %). One in three Germans (36 %) thinks that their bank offers mobile payment such as Google Pay or Apple Pay. "We are experiencing serious shifts in the relationship between customers and their bank. Banks
JULIAN GRIGO
Head of Digital Banking & Financial Services
j.grigo@bitkom.org
FABIAN NADLER
Contributor, Digital Insurance & InsurTech
f.nadler@bitkom.org