Lake Charles baby boomers shifting to mobile banking
Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Merchants & Farmers Bank’s website offers the convenience and ease of handling your monthly bills with its Bill Pay feature.
Mary Jane, a 69-year-old grandmother of six, never thought she would be the first of her friends to switch to mobile banking.
“I just resisted it and always said no, but my kids finally convinced me it’s the way to go. Once I got acclimated to my smart phone and Facebook, I realized using Merchants & Farmers Bank’s mobile app gave me more time with my grandkids,” she said.
Like other baby boomers, Mary Jane found herself more and more comfortable with her phone.
New Account Representative Janelle Authement helps a Merchants & Farmers’ customer set up the bank’s app on his smart phone
“It does almost everything for me,” she laughs. “I had to get on Facebook to keep up with what’s going on in the family and doing my banking on my phone was just a step away from that.”
According to the American Bankers Association (ABA) about 71 percent of boomers use online banking at least once a week, although they have been slow to add mobile connections — only about 18 percent of consumers over age 61 use a mobile app.
“Millennials quickly embraced mobile banking,” explains Merchants & Farmers New Account Representative Janelle Authement, “but we’re seeing more boomers shift to not just online banking but mobile banking, too.”
Having that kind of connectivity helps with security issues by allowing your bank to send mobile alerts and improve your real-time awareness of account activity, according to the ABA.
Millennials are less concerned about security and the majority of them cite the ability to snap a photo of a check and make a deposit from their phone.
Brittany, a 27-year-old retail manager says, “Convenience is number one. I never have to go down to the bank and I love being able to check my account anytime.”
Merchants & Farmers Bank’s mobile app
Mitchell, a 22-year-old carpenter says, “I never use cash. I can see my checking and savings accounts at a glance and it’s super easy to transfer funds.” While April, a 20-year-old college student says, “When my friends and I go to dinner, I pay with my credit card and my friends can use Merchants & Farmers P2P (Person-to-Person) to pay me their share.”
Catherine represents more of a middle ground as a 45-year-old mother of two. “It was the ease of taking a picture of my check to deposit it that drew me to mobile banking. But it has been the security alerts that have kept me there. I really appreciate knowing that my bank is looking out for me,” she explains.
“Another feature of Merchants & Farmers service is our willingness to help you set everything up beginning with your online account,” Authement continues, “And we’ll walk you through the process of adding the mobile app. We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re left to their own devices for the setup.”
“You know, I struggled with the decision to bank from my phone,” explains Mary Jane, “but now that I’ve done it, I sure wish I’d done it sooner. And it doesn’t hurt that my grandkids think I’m pretty cool.”
