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

Whether a financial company can ensure the “safety and security of my money” is what consumers in Hong Kong most consider when choosing a bank, payment service, investment platform or insurance provider – with close to three in five (59%) saying this is an important factor.

Research by YouGov also reveals that low or no fees (58%) and good interest rates (50%) are the next two most significant factors, while close to half say good customer service (46%) is an important consideration.

Where do various generations in Hong Kong differ when it comes to choosing a financial service provider?

Older consumers in Hong Kong – almost three-quarters of Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964) and three-fifths 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 younger consumers – just over half of Millennials (born 1981 – 1996) and over two-fifths of Gen Z (born 1997 – 2009) say the same.

The same age-based pattern is observed for costs and incentive considerations. The proportion of consumers who say that good interest rates, low or no fees, attractive incentives to switch / continue with a financial service provider is lowest among Gen Z and highest among Baby Boomers.

Notably, there is a wide variation across generations when it comes to fees consideration: while close to three-quarters (71%) of Baby Boomers say it is an important consideration when choosing a financial company, less than half (41%) of Gen Z say it is.

A financial service provider that offers good customer service is also a significantly more prevalent consideration among older consumers – that’s the case for around half of Baby Boomers and Gen X, but only two-fifths or less of Millennials and Gen Z.

Across most generations, about two in five consumers say access to digital services is an important consideration – except for millennials, where less than one in three think it is significant.

While one-third of Baby Boomers (33%) say that a financial service provider’s ethical values are an important consideration, among other younger generations that proportion is closer to one-quarter (22-27%). Meanwhile, a financial company’s stance on environmental sustainability (e.g. actions to reduce the environmental impact of their operations) is an important consideration for one in five consumers (21%) across various generations.

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. Hong Kong data figures (N = 513) have been weighted by age and gender to represent the adult online population in Hong Kong (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) 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.