Savvy financial marketing coupled with ongoing development of customer products is the solution to the rapidly declining number of millennials who have a traditional bank as their primary financial institution.

Global mobile payment transactions increased by 44% from 2012 through 2013.¹ How does your bank stack up to that trend? If your bank’s mobile and online payments aren’t growing in pace with the rest of the world, it could strongly indicate that your financial institution needs to do more to grow adoption.

The banking industry is constantly evolving. In order to stay competitive, bank marketers need to understand and respond to the most recent trends within the industry, including the move toward online and mobile banking and payment services.

Mobile wallet functionality is expected to double within the next four years, leaving many financial institutions to wonder what their role will be in this newly mobile-driven industry.¹ Are mobile payments a friend or foe? How can banks and other institutions take advantage of marketing for mobile payments?

As technology continues to evolve, more and more services are provided to consumers online, including financial services. Over time, many consumers have come to prefer digital services to traditional banking options. In fact, recent studies have shown that a shift toward digital banking is imminent. For this reason, we believe financial institutions need to get on board with ensuring usage and adoption of digitally-based services if they hope to thrive in this ever-changing industry.

Consumers want mobile payments. Mobile wallet usage has been rising steadily among consumers. For many, it's more convenient than having to use cash or even a credit or debit card. Gartner estimates that mobile payment volume will nearly triple in the next three years.¹ A mobile wallet lets a consumer choose between payment methods on the fly and the ability to control all of their payments through a single device. Banks and financial institutions’ marketing teams that want to take advantage of mobile payments and the mobile wallet trend will need to act fast to capture this growing segment of the market.

Traditional banking services are not enough to hold the attention of today's customers. In order to keep up with evolving consumer preferences and desires, banks need to be prepared to offer consumers value-added content. Additionally, consumers have a growing interest in receiving financial advice from their financial institution. Bank marketers must also encourage consumers to take advantage of these new services and information through effective adoption strategies and content marketing.

The banking and financial services industry continues to go through significant change. Consumers have more and more options outside their financial institutions every day. Internet giants like Google are now competing in the mobile wallet arena. And customers are demanding more and more cohesion across all the channels they use to bank.

Payment options and payment trends are critical topics and threats for many financial institutions’ revenue streams today. As technology continues to provide consumers with more payment options, financial institutions need to reconsider their offerings and drive engagement with current customers. Mobile wallets are getting a lot of media attention and are just one of the many payment trends that consumers now have as an option. As payment trends are consistently changing and growing, it is arguable that consumer demands are also on the increase, with a desire for greater convenience, speed and security.