Current accounts, 33% of Italians prefer it via smartphone
57% of Italians have only one bank account, while 32% have two and 6% say they have between three and five. Millennials are the generation most inclined to have more than one account: 38% have two and 9% have three to five. This is stated by a research sponsored by Revolut, the financial app that has 30 million customers worldwide and 1.3 in Italy and is highly appreciated by the younger public. The research aims to shed some light on the use of the current account by Italians.
4% of Italians do not have a bank account
After all, there are also those who don’t have it, ie 4% of Italians, a percentage that rises to 5% among women. 8% of Generation Z have no bank accounts, while among the over 65s it is only 1.7% that have none.
The use of the current account for the GenZ, ie the youngest between 11 and 26 years old, is via smartphone. But even those who are not so young appreciate it. In fact, one in three Italians (33%) states that they prefer smartphone banking over bank with branch because they believe it is more flexible (22% of the sample) or because they feel more in control of their money (11% of the sample). The percentage of those who prefer banking via smartphone rises to 47% in the 18-24 age group and drops to 20% among the over 65s. Banks with branches obtain 23% of the preferences: from 37% of the over 65s it progressively drops to 12% of the GenZ. Another 33% prefer a hybrid solution: two accounts, one in a traditional bank and another in a smartphone bank.
Nearly 8 out of 10 Italians (77%) also believe that keeping track of their expenses can help them better manage their finances. In detail, 41% do it using apps and digital tools. The number rises above 45% among GenZ and Millennials and remains at the level of the national average (41%) in the 55-64 range, the so-called Boomers.
Only 18% declare themselves satisfied with the conditions applied by their bank
As for the change to obtain more advantageous interest rates, 57% of those interviewed think it is worth it or have already done so. In particular, among Millennials and GenX the figure rises respectively to 63% and 64% but drops to 46% among the over 65s. Only 18% of Italians say they are happy with the conditions offered by their bank, while 8% think that changing is too stressful. The least inclined to a possible change, due to the stress it entails, are the young people of GenZ (10%).
The over 65s are those who to a greater extent (7% compared to the national average of 5%) say they pay less attention to the exchange rates applied to their accounts.
Age groups and generations
Boomers: born 1946-1964 (over 58), GenX: born 1965-1980 (ages 43-58), Millennials: born 1981-1996 (ages 27-42)
GenZ: born 1997-2012 (11-26 years old)