Digital Lending is More Than Just a Trend

Want a hamburger? Need a loan? There’s an app for that!

Digitalization is everywhere. On a recent road trip, I stopped at a 麦当劳 for a quick bite. I skipped the drive-thru to stretch my legs, and as I walked in to order, I was amazed to see a long line – for a digital kiosk!? Soon I was standing in front of a completely digital ordering experience, where I selected and customized my order in a matter of seconds, and I didn’t need to talk to anyone!

This has become the expectation. Everything, even when ordering a hamburger, should feel customized, fast and hassle-free. Insurance sales, lending and loan processing are not exempt from these high expectations.

Smartphones, social media, payment apps, oh my!

The financial services industry is working to capture the business of younger generations, but some of us have more of an uphill battle. Consider the statistics:

• 78 percent of consumers want to manage all their finances digitally. [1]
• By 2025, millennials will comprise 75 percent of the workforce [2] and Gen Z is expected to surpass Gen X in its number of U.S. digital buyers. [3]
• Less than 30 percent of consumers say they prefer to bank in person at a local branch, while over three-quarters want to do their business either on a bank’s website (37 percent) or a mobile app (41 percent) [4]

Younger generations expect a seamless digital experience from retailers, whether on social media, a website or an app. If a business isn’t offering a competitive digital experience, buyers and borrowers will look elsewhere.

Investing now can help you stay competitive

While there is a cost to digitalizing your business, it is worth reflecting on the cost of in-action versus investing now.?

The global digital lending market will be valued at $11.5 billion in 2023 [5] and is anticipated to reach a value of $24.3 billion by 2027. [6] With ongoing advancements in technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, we will continue to see this market grow and with that, a demand from borrowers to offer a completely online experience.

Investing in a digital experience for your consumers now can help you stay competitive and capture more business.

Securian Financial can help

The process of digitalization can seem daunting. Focus on optimizing each step of your loan process, including optional insurance cross-sell opportunities. It is especially important to keep digitalization in mind when selecting partners to work with. Understanding how dedicated and invested they are in digital offerings should be crucial to your decision making.??

At Securian Financial, we are invested in offering our insurance products as a part of a completely digital experience. Wherever you are on your digital journey, we can help you evolve your business to stay competitive, broaden your borrower landscape and join in the future of lending.?

[1] CUInsight.com , How credit unions can navigate their rapidly changing industry. As of March 2023.

[2] Forbes , Millennials And Gen Z: Now Is The Time To Reshape Businesses To Harness Their Power. As of June 2022.

[3] Insider Intelligence , How Gen Z shops and buys in 5 charts. As of February 2023.

[4] CUInsight.com , How credit unions can navigate their rapidly changing industry. As of March 2023.

[5] Digital Lending Platforms Market Trends and Analysis by Region, Deployment, End Use and Segment Forecast to 2030. As of June 2023.

[6] 彭博资讯 , Digital Lending Market: How Digital Platforms are Democratizing Access to Finance | Brandessence Market Research. As of May 2023.

Additional References:

安永 , Why digital lending is the future for banks and SMEs, Filippo Mastropietro, https://www.ey.com/en_gl/financial-services-emeia/why-digital-lending-is-the-future-for-banks-and-smes. As of July 2022.