Everyone knows that Gen Y and X are the driving force behind mobile apps, but the Baby Boomer generation isn't afraid of a little technology.

The media and many financial institutions presume that when it comes to opportunities of online banking and mobile apps, Boomers are afraid of the new technology because of lack of security or non- use of computers to interact with their credit union. This could be an assumption that is as outdated as Fresca.

While baby boomers have not quite reached the level of adoption rates of online banking as Gen Y/X, it's hard to ignore their acceptance over the last several years of the online banking and mobile apps. Once Baby Boomers embrace the technology of online banking, their usage can rival Gen Y/X. Baby Boomers ages 49-68 (and seniors over 68) account for 46 percent of all open checking account holders and they could fuel the next growth wave within digital banking, according to Nielson.

“Many Baby Boomers are still working and are learning new computer and digital skills and could lead the way in banking technology,” said Bill Sylvester, vice president of Mobile Live Technology Group. “What we are seeing is that the vast majority of affluent boomers and affluent millennials say they prefer to use mobile banking and banks and credit unions need to acknowledge this if they are going to stay in the game.”

While the point of overload of online banking for Gen Y and X might be near, boomers not only represent the majority of the US population, but they are hip to it when it comes to online banking and their numbers are continuing to grow at a rapid rate.

Millennials might be quick to adopt new technology, such as mobile banking but there are more tech-savvy boomers surfing the Web for their banking needs than previously thought. Efficiency and convenience play a major role in baby boomer satisfaction, which makes banking services like online banking and electronic bill pay appealing.

Boomers are a huge, barely tapped segment for mobile marketing. Technology has given boomers the support they need as they drive off into the sunset in their motorhomes. In the past three years, their use of mobile apps has soured with social networking up 1,113%, product information searches up 567 percent and listening to music, up 29 percent. Their growing comfort with the technology is an open invitation for digital banking.

Furthermore, 45 percent of Baby Boomers actively use online or mobile banking according to The Financial Brand.

“My grandkids taught me how to use a mobile app and my kids were astonished when I told them I took picture of my checks and deposited them while I was on the road,” said Maggie Hampton of Lake Tahoe, CA. “It's so easy and I travel so much that it was a pain to try and find a credit union when we drove through a big enough city. If the kids can do it I can do it.”

Smart credit unions are rethinking their consumer demographics and customizing online banking for Boomers. Cultivating additional online services to boomers presents another chance to cross-sell this still-cool generation.

Instant Insights /

Credit Union Wake Up Call: Boomers Are Not Afraid of Technology

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