"I Hate My Bank But Love My Phone"

“Young people are distrustful, disengaged and disloyal towards their bank and are therefore more likely to switch between providers than older customers.” That’s how the Financial Times summed up Accenture’s new survey of more than 4,000 banking customers in the UK and Ireland.

The percentage of respondents who think their bank is trustworthy fell from 45% last year to 40%. But if that sounds grim, check out the numbers for younger customers — less than 25% of 18-24-year-olds think their bank is ethical. That’s one reason why younger customers say they’re very willing to change banks.

How can banks win the hearts of these switch-prone customers — besides avoiding the kinds of scandals that have rocked the media for the past few years? Stephen Whitehouse at PwC hit the nail on the head when he told the FT, “Engaging via mobile technology – providing a tailored service – is key.”

This goes back to my recent posts about the need for mobile banking to evolve. Youngsters may hate their bank but they love their phones. The message to UK banks is clear: Act like an app — a cool one — and you might just bridge the generation gap.