By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
Editor’s Note: FinTech – the umbrella term for consumer and business-oriented online financial services – has been a hot item in the media of late. This month Prime explores how quickly online banking is becoming the accepted norm among people over age 50, and some of the latest banking apps now available.
Have you embraced online banking yet? If you are like many people, the societal lockdowns and limited hours at your local bank during 2020 – all courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic – may have pushed you to dip your toe into the digital world of money management.
If you did, you’re not alone.
According to a May 21, 2020 article by Bloomberg, Bank of America saw a 23 percent jump in the use of their online banking services by people over 50
in April 2020. Goldman Sachs saw a 25 percent jump in the use of its online financial platform during the same period. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-31/older-crowd-embraces-online-banking-rewards-firms-digital-push).
In specific, according to the online version of Forbes magazine. “The percentage of older adults using mobile checking to deposit has been on the rise during the pandemic, though. A June 2020 SYKES survey of 1,000 people 55+ found that 18 percent who do use mobile checking did so for the first time due
to the pandemic. And Zelle [an online money transfer app] says 55 percent of people 55 and older are using mobile banking more frequently since the start of the pandemic.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2020/07/26/hey-personal-finance-apps-how-about-serving-older-people/?sh=3d66d2033827
The one thing that holds back bank customers age 50-plus from fully embracing these online services? Fear, according to the Forbes article. For people who have conducted most of their financial lives in cash, and are accustomed to giving their checks to a teller to cash or deposit, the jump to cashless, paperless transactions can seem too big a leap.
But there are apps that let you dip your toe in the digital banking world, some that even allow cash deposits.
For those who are thinking about taking the leap, there are plenty of digital banking app choices in the Google Play Store or Apple App store on your mobile phone. Business Insider reviewed
the pros and cons of a host of the most popular ones – including Ally, Chime, CapitalOne, Chase, Charles Schwab and Discover – in an online article published May 3, 2021 (https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-mobile-banking-apps).
And there’s a new one, Monifi, with a focus on helping users better understand their spending and saving habits. Prime spoke to Grant Griswold, senior vice president and director of Marketing for the new online banking app. Monifi is a division of MidFirst Bank of Oklahoma City, the largest privately owned, FDIC-insured bank in the U.S.
Griswold said MidFirst’s research into the over-50 banking population shows that although that “demographic lagged other [groups] before the pandemic” the experiences of the past year have pretty much forced this group “to try online banking and banking apps in a rate that is higher than what they would typically do.”
To answer this need, MidFirst developed Monifi as a digital-only bank and included the needs of older bankers – who often have to live within a set budget – in its design. Griswold said the 50-plus bank client is “looking for tools to help them simplify their banking.” With Monifi, Griswold said MidFirst has tried to “make the online app experience as simple and as easy as possible” acknowledging these clients are interested in “having one tool where they can go for everything” from managing their savings and checking accounts to setting specific long-term goals.
According to Griswold, one of the highlights of Monifi is the ability to set specific savings goals – from a fancy dinner out to a dream vacation – and also to easily track spending in client-designated categories to help with budgeting concerns. Though the checking and savings accounts do not accumulate interest, there is an interest incentive for the savings goals.
“We refer to it as transaction enrichment,” Griswold explained about the spending tracking. “In a lot of your banking apps, whether online or actual app, when you pull up your transaction history they are all coded and you can’t really tell where your money was spent. It lists dollar amounts and there are various codes, and sometimes descriptions. With Monifi we bring logos in from all companies around the country, so if they bought a coffee at Starbucks or gas at Phillips 66, that all shows up. They can visually tell what their transactions are.”
A Monifi account has no cost to set up and comes with a debit card that can be used fee-free at 55,000 AllPoint ATMs across the country, though the availability of these ATMs may vary by region. Deposits to the account can be made through the mobile deposit feature, Zelle, a transfer from a linked bank account, an ACH or a wire transfer. Unlike its parent bank MidFirst, the Monifi banking app does not have a physical presence, but does offer customer service by phone, email and online chat. 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, Central time, according to the website www.gobankingrates.com.
For more information on Monifi, visit https://www.monifi.com/
