A new survey has revealed that the next generation of consumers strongly distrusts all financial service providers.
Despite the strong suspicion of financial institutions, students polled still believe that financial success can be achieved with the right financial decisions, according The Financial Literacy Group consulting firm.
The survey has also found that 60% of students believe that credit card companies entice people into taking on more debt than they can handle.
In addition, more than 70% of students believe that businesses often try to trick young people into spending more than they should.
Only 15% of students were aware that credit unions are different than banks with respect to their not-for-profit status. The majority of students surveyed (83%) believe that banks are mostly interested in getting their money through hidden fees.
According to The Financial Literacy Group CEO Dan Iannicola Jr., the survey’s implications go beyond just bad PR for the financial services industry.
“This type of financial disengagement could push a generation of consumers away from mainstream institutions and toward risky alternative service providers or toward simple inactivity, which has its own perils,” said Iannicola, a former deputy assistant secretary for financial education at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Arizona’s Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research tapped The Financial Literacy Group to conduct the survey.
The poll was offered to students at 18 high schools in 11 states across the country, and 878 students completed the survey in January and February of this year. Respondents from all levels of high school were represented.
