It is no secret that millennials have been heralded as the generation which holds the key to the success or failure of digital payments innovation, often embracing new solutions en masse or rejecting them at pace.
Research by VocaLink, one year in its making, reveals that the latest technology being developed in the payments sector is yet to win favour with the millennial audience, with the majority of 18-35 year olds turning to their bank for payment solutions.
The European-focused research is the second part of VocaLink’s global report, “The Millennial Influence”, examining the payments behaviour of millennials across the globe.
The research has shown that European millennials have an appetite for innovation in the payments sector but are yet to find a solution that both meets their needs and is significantly superior to existing payment methods.
For example, fifty-five percent of German millennials have never used mobile payment technology and products such as Apple Pay in the UK have had a surprisingly low uptake level with only 2% of those surveyed actively using the service.
“The millennial generation is quite rightly pushing the payments industry to drive high quality innovation, currently dissatisfied with what is available today,” explains Cara O’Nions, Director of Marketing and Customer Insights at VocaLink.
“While payment preferences differ across the world, our research shows that in nearly all cases millennials are consistently looking for substance over style – technology that is seamless and secure and allows them to make payments instantly.”
At this moment in time, it would seem millennials are still following their parent’s lead when it comes to making payments, using methods that they know and trust.
So while attitudinally millennials may be game-changers, the research shows that more conservative behaviours are evident when it comes to making payments. In Germany, they still have a reliance on cash, with 70% of Germans paying for groceries in cash vs 61% on card. In Italy, 28% of behaviour, use of payments technology and what services payments providers should offer in the future.
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