What do Australia’s consumers most consider when choosing a financial service provider?

Having to pay low or no fees and ensuring the safety and security of their money are what consumers in Australia most consider when choosing a bank, payment service, investment platform or insurance provider – with almost four in six (68% and 67% respectively) saying this is an important factor.

Research by YouGov also reveals that good customer service (65%), good interest rates (58%) and access to digital services (52%) are important considerations for more than half of Australia’s consumers when choosing a financial service provider.

Where do various generations in Australia differ when choosing a financial service provider?

Older consumers in Australia – around six-sevenths of Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) and four-sixths of Gen X (born 1965 – 1980) – are more likely to say "safety and security of my money" is an important consideration when choosing a financial service provider, compared to around half of younger Millennial (born 1981 – 1996) and Gen Z (born 1997 – 2009) consumers.

The same age-based pattern is observed for consideration of good interest rates and paying low or no fees, which is lowest among Gen Z and highest among Baby Boomers. Notably, there is very wide variation across generations when it comes to fees consideration: while six in seven (85%) Baby Boomers say it is important, less than half (44%) of Gen Z say it is.

But when it comes to attractive incentives to switch / continue with a financial service provider, only around one-fifth of Gen Z and Baby Boomers say it is an important consideration, compared to under one-third of Millennials and Gen X consumers.

A financial service provider that offers good customer service is also a significantly more prevalent consideration among older consumers – that’s the case for more than three in five of Gen X and Baby Boomers, but only over half of Gen Z and Millennials. Surprisingly, Baby Boomers are much more likely to say access to digital services is an important consideration (60%), compared to other younger consumers (47-51%).

While just over two in five Gen Z (42%) and Baby Boomers (41%) say that a financial service provider’s ethical values are an important consideration, less than one in three Millennials (30%) and Gen X (32%) say it is.

But when it comes to a financial company’s stance on environmental sustainability (e.g. actions to reduce the environmental impact of their operations) the proportion of consumers who say it is an important factor decreases with age – from just over two-fifths of Gen Z (41%) to just over one-quarter of Baby Boomers (26%).

Read YouGov's latest consumer research in the finance sector:

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Methodology: YouGov Custom Research is a full end-to-end service from YouGov experts, from sample framing and questionnaire design to analysis and more, which provides bespoke market intelligence and research insights. Australia data figures (N = 1,018) have been weighted by age, gender, and region to be representative of all adults in Australia (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population estimates. APAC data figures (N = 5,653) include the following markets: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Learn more about YouGov Custom Research.