Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Online, via app or at the counter?
The pandemic and health measures have forced the most refractory to adopt new banking transaction habits. So much so that 89% of Canadians used online banking in 2021 and almost everyone appreciates it, according to the Canadian Bankers Association survey of 4,000 adults in December 2021.
What do banking consumer habits look like now? Half of Canadians go online, a third on an app, 8% still prefer the counters and 10% insist on going to see someone in person at their institution.
For the moment, it is the Z who like the apps the most. Their use has increased since 2016 by 21%. Almost everyone walks around with a smartphone and the possibilities of banking operations are multiplying. Although their use is on the rise, the fact remains that 20% of Canadians do not like them at all.
2% only by phone
Are Canadians using and liking online services because phone banking takes too long? “It’s easier online. We did not emphasize the telephone service in the main results of the study, because it is 2 to 3% who use them, ”says Mathieu Labrèche, spokesperson for the Canadian Bankers Association.
While the banks maintain that demand is on the rise – see the text by my colleague Marie-Eve Fournier – “it is more people who want to solve problems who call on the phone, he specifies. This is done less and less, because problems can be solved automatically online or with online help. Sometimes we do both at the same time, on the phone and online, to see where help will come first. And then it can already be settled online by the time someone answers the phone. »
Security of their bank’s digital services: 86% trust
Despite the setbacks with data theft at Desjardins, Capital One, Equifax and the identity theft of National and TD bank customers, respondents’ confidence in the security of digital services offered by institutions is solid. No less than 87% of customers trust their bank to protect their personal information.
The Zs have more paper money
Even if the majority of Canadians have adopted digital transactions, many still travel with paper money for various reasons: habit, lack of access to credit, to manage their budget or to pay for a black service. .
On average, on a normal day, Canadians carry $80 in their pocket, while in 2018 they carried $91. In five years, however, consumers expect to have even more cash on them, on average $117.
And surprise: baby boomers have an average of $70 in their wallets, but Gen Zers are carrying even more money, at $100. According to the hypothesis raised by Mathieu Labrèche, the youngest withdraw a larger amount, but do not use it immediately.
Addicted to crypto, but not too much
More than half of consumers, 56%, say they would consider using a private cryptocurrency and a third expect to use another form of currency within five years, the survey reveals.
“This is the first time that the use of digital currency has been measured. We can see that there is a strong interest and that it is accompanied by a reservation. There is a surprising amount of money that has been introduced,” explains Mathieu Labrèche.
“It’s mostly young men who intend to use it,” he observes. Basically, men like to take more risks, which can help to understand the phenomenon. »