We are a mobile society driven in large part by our much-talked-about millennial generation. With the world literally at their fingertips, they seem comparatively fearless in relation to their older counterparts and are a slice of the market solicited to by advertisers and Hollywood – from energy drinks to movies. Their opinion matters.
Millennials are even impacting some real estate markets as they are buying property earlier and for different reasons than their parents did. They are not living in the same home for 30 years – they are buying townhomes and condos near work and within easy distance from metro areas. They are also buying them as single people with the thought to move on in a few years’ time. The millennials are literally in the building.
This powerful force is also flowing into the workplace in droves. Most have likely not written a physical check, never mind being paid by one. And what about direct deposit? A convenience staple appreciated by employees worldwide, it necessitates an account to receive the funds.
And now consider the “getting paid revolution” – a paycard. An ideal solution for the sector of Americans referred to as the “unbanked” paycards are the means by which employers can credit wages earned onto a card that can be used to withdraw funds and shop online and purchase from any retail shops/restaurants that accept credit cards.
The National Retail Federation cites:
While a majority of employees in the United States are now paid through direct deposit, nearly one-fifth of the workforce remains “unbanked,” meaning they don’t have a bank account, and as such require physical paychecks. As a consequence, the use of reloadable “paycards” has grown over the past decade as an option to pay employees who don’t hold bank accounts.
For all the flexibility of this payroll alternative, has this payment evolution coincided at the perfect time to intersect with the demands of a younger generation? It would appear to be so.
According to The Center for Generational Kinetics: Roughly 5 million Millennials do not have a checking account — nearly half say it’s due to a distrust for banks. Many younger workers are intentionally avoiding bank accounts. More than a third of all Millennials in the survey said it would be valuable to have their paychecks loaded onto a card; 64 percent said paycards should be offered by employers as a payment option.
Their Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Dorsey, has opined that Millennials are opting for alternative solutions that meet their generation’s needs; ones that are less traditional. “A paycard offers a way for these workers to manage their wages with greater freedom, independent of institutions they distrust.”
Yet it seems to be more than bucking the system. Millennials are interested in options. They do not always want to be told what they can and cannot do; and apparently how they can and cannot be paid. They have become a force to be reckoned with who cherish freedom, even when it comes to banking.