Australia is just months away from officially welcoming Open Banking. And yet, 77% of Australians have never heard of it. This is the result of a study we have conducted at Hotwire Australia, in partnership with .
If Australia has been leading the way in terms of contactless payments, studies show the country has been lagging behind in broader adoption of other financial services offered by emerging FinTech players.
The results of our study confirm that trend, with 77% of respondents saying they have never heard of FinTech or businesses from the industry before, despite emerging players ramping up their communications efforts within the last couple of years.
Open Banking seems to be following the same path, and as with most things in the communications world, the messaging may just be in the medium. While this looks like a grim outlook there is hope for FinTech marketers — interestingly, in spite of their lack of awareness, almost half of Australians surveyed were left unsure by the end of the survey about whether or not they would adopt Open Banking in the next 12 months.
The untold opportunity for FinTech marketers
What does all this mean? Simple – in spite of their doubts, Australians remain open to the idea of Open Banking. They may just need the right message in the right medium to tip them from that fine line between complacency and adoption.
Marketers should be asking themselves: if not now, when? Open Banking will be on our doorstep in a few months’ time, and FinTechs are poised to capitalise on the new accessibility of information and data that will allow Australians to re-evaluate their long-held perceptions of how they can and can’t bank. 82% of Australians re-evaluate their financial products at least every five years, therefore there is an appetite for better financial deals.
Here are some effective ways FinTechs can properly gear up to February 2020:
Choose the channels that will really resonate. In our survey, 80% of Australians said they haven’t seen any promotions from FinTech businesses in the last six months. This goes to show me that as brand communicators, it’s easy to get caught up in our industry’s bubble. Just because you are pumping investments into social media or influencer marketing, this does not equal awareness or education for the everyday person. In fact, our survey showed that of those who remembered seeing promotions from FinTechs, television, digital advertising, and news articles were among the top channels.
Appreciate content’s role in personal finance education, and have the right partner on board to help you circumvent the various compliance challenges that come with creating financially-focused content. Our report showed that the number one reason that prevent would Australians from taking advantage of Open Banking is the security of their banking data, which they are not willing to share with other financial organisations. With all the owned and social channels available to banks and FinTechs, prioritising education and reassurance around security should do wonders to boost uptake of Open Banking. You can read more about this in a recent blog by Louise Morrisey.
Use data to back up what people really want to hear. We now know security is a major barrier to entry for Australians when it comes to Open Banking. The study also revealed that half of Australians think they are paying too much for their banking and financial services, and the number one reason that would prompt them to use Open Banking is hearing about the financial benefits and unbeatable deals. Dispelling myths and providing reassurances around security, combined with key messages highlighting the financial benefits of adopting FinTech services, should therefore be at the strategic centre of messaging in the coming months.
To read more about our study and how FinTech marketers can take advantage of the next three months, download the full whitepaper, Cracking the Code of Open Banking.