Australia and New Zealand Banking Group : No cash, no worries your fingerprint will do, new survey reveals

For Release: 4 October 2012

Seventy-nine per cent of Australians said they would be comfortable with fingerprint technology one day replacing their banking PIN and more than one third of Australians would prefer to live in a cashless world according to a new survey released today.1
The Newspoll survey commissioned by ANZ also found Baby Boomers are giving younger generations a run for their money, with nearly three quarters of those aged 50-64 more likely to use digital technology over a bank branch for day-to-day banking transactions.
Australians have adopted digital habits for most of their banking needs and will increasingly look to technology to make their financial lives easier in the future, with the survey finding:

• Not surprisingly 88 per cent of people aged 18 - 34 prefer to use digital technology over a bank branch for day-to-day transactions but their Mums and Dads weren't far behind at 75 per cent;

• 38 per cent of Australians would prefer to live in a world where they didn't need to

carry cash;

• 40 per cent of people even accepted the idea of one day outsourcing their finances to a digital personal assistant - an intelligent computer program which makes financial decisions and moves money between accounts on your behalf;

• 49 per cent of 18 -34 year olds like the idea of a digital personal assistant but

with only 30 per cent of Baby Boomers indicating they would be likely to use the technology;

• 67 per cent of Australians would be comfortable using a machine that scans your eye to verify identification in place of a pin; and

• 73 per cent of people find it inconvenient when small businesses don't accept cards and only cash, with 82 per cent of 18-34 year olds finding cash only policies the most frustrating.

The comprehensive survey reveals that while we are embracing many aspects of new technology, Australians still want face-to-face interaction for life's "big ticket" items. More than twice as many Australians said they would prefer to apply for a loan (62 per cent) or get mortgage advice (64 per cent) in a bank branch than by using digital technology.
Futurist Ross Dawson said the survey shows Australians are willing to lead the way in the uptake of this kind of technology but it will be up to the banks to respond.
"Cash could be on the way out and it's realistic to imagine a world in which we carry no notes or coins, or even credit or debit cards," Mr Dawson said.
"Before long we may use our fingerprints or even retina scans to make payments. Australians have shown they are comfortable with biometric identification, because it combines convenience with security.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited ABN 11 005 357 522

"As banks make it easier to make and receive payments through devices such as smart phones, a new wave of entrepreneurs and jobs will be enabled. Pop-up stores will tap fleeting fashion trends and revitalise main streets, personal services will be available wherever is most convenient to consumers, and great ideas will garner contributions.
"We have already learned to tell our smart phones what we want with technologies like Apple's Siri, so it may not be that long before we are relying on a personal digital assistant like Siri to help us with banking transactions such as moving funds or making payments, and even potentially choosing investments on our behalf," Mr Dawson said.
ANZ Chief Executive Officer Australia Philip Chronican said the results underlined why banks need to move with the times and keep up with how Australians want banking services to interact with their lives.
"We know our customers prefer to do their day-to-day transactions in their own time either online or by using mobile devices so our task is to respond to this change by embracing the online and digital challenge and enable our customers to bank with us on their terms," Mr Chronican said.
"Over the next five years, we will direct $1.5 billion to reshape the way we do business in Australia by investing in new digital technology, our people and our branches to make it easier for Australians to bank with ANZ," Mr Chronican said.
As part of ANZ's five year 'Banking on Australia' program, new initiatives for customers include:

Android devices.

For media enquiries contact: Sarah Fragapane

Haystac Public Affairs

Tel: +61 3 9693 2276 or +61 432 425 645

Email: sarah.fragapane@haystac.com.au

Ingrid Nugent

Media Relations Advisor

Tel: 03 8654 3635 or 0421 430 201

Email: ingrid.nugent@anz.com

1 Newspoll Market & Social Research conducted an independent telephone survey of 1,211 Australians, 18 years of age and older, across all states and territories in August 2012. Data was collected in line with ISO 20252 - Market, Social and Opinion Research and has been weighted with current ABS population demographics to ensure any extrapolation of results is representative of age, sex and area.

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