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Demand for youth banking high for Gen Z, Alpha children

Thursday, March 28, 2024 — 12:30:42 (EDT)

BLUE BELL, Pa., March 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Rego Payment Architectures, Inc. (“REGO”) (OTCQB: RPMT), and Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: QTWO), a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for financial services, announced the release of the “Banking on Tomorrow: How Today’s Youth Will Shape the Future of Banking” report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the financial habits of Generation Z and Alpha and their parents' preferences for a youth banking solution. In addition, the report highlights the transformative impact youth banking solutions can have on the growth of financial institutions.

In recent years, banks and credit unions have faced a multitude of challenges related to digital disruption and new financial technology entrants. To combat these challenges, financial institutions have focused on increasing customer loyalty and deposit growth. The report offers insight into how both of those objectives can be achieved by tapping into the population of hands-on, well-educated parents who are hoping to instill healthy financial habits in their children.

“This report sheds light on the opportunity for financial institutions to partner with fintechs to deliver products and services that meet the needs of Generations Alpha and Z,” said Johnny Ola, managing director, Q2 Innovation Studio, at Q2. “Through the Q2 Innovation Studio, financial institutions and fintech partners, like Rego, can collaborate to deliver the right products and services at the right time throughout the financial journeys of Generations Alpha and Z.”

Emphasizing the unique needs of both parents and children when it comes to a youth banking solution, the report substantiates the opportunity that financial institutions have before them: banking on tomorrow.

“In the era of rapidly evolving technology, it is paramount that financial institutions understand the developing financial habits of the next generation,” said Peter S. Pelullo, Chief Executive Officer at REGO. “Our findings spotlight the undeniable economic influence and spending power of these future banking customers and how traditional banks and credit unions are uniquely positioned to capitalize upon that.”

Key Insights from the Report:

Financial institutions have an opportunity to maximize on significant youth spending power. Approximately 80% of children ages 7-17 spend up to $50 a week, and 10% of those children spend $100 or more each week – equating to $5200 of transactions yearly.

Financial institutions must pay attention to parents’ wants and needs when considering a solution. Burdened by student loans, the scarcity of affordable housing, and the stagnation of wages, the majority of parents (56.3%) identified the desire to arm their children with the financial savvy needed for a secure future, highlighting the demand for youth-focused banking solutions.

Parents seek solutions from their current banking provider – and it could play a huge role in customer loyalty if financial institutions do not adapt. According to the report, a significant majority of parents (57.2%) express a preference for their existing banking provider when considering a youth banking solution. However, 75.1% of parents would consider switching to a different financial institution that offers a youth banking solution if theirs does not, spotlighting the direct link between such offerings and customer retention.

About Banking on Tomorrow: How Today’s Youth Will Shape the Future of Banking To compile the report, REGO conducted an online survey in partnership with AYTM with 1,000 U.S. parents or legal guardians representing 1,538 children from ages 0-17 to uncover how today’s youth earn and manage money and how parents’ attitudes toward financial education affect long-term loyalty to financial institutions.

To view the report’s findings in full, download “Banking on Tomorrow: How Today’s Youth Will Shape the Future of Banking.” To learn more about REGO, please visit regopayments.com. To learn more about Q2, please visit q2.com.

About REGO

Rego Payment Architectures, Inc. ("REGO") is a family digital wallet platform that empowers financial institutions to let their customer's children spend, save, donate and invest in a safe, parent-controlled environment. Founded in 2008, REGO is the only family digital wallet platform to be certified COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and third-party GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation) compliant. REGO has also been awarded multiple patents related to the safety of parent and child data, including age verification of users. Built from the ground-up to protect the privacy of children's data, REGO offers financial literacy tools for parents to teach their kids to be smarter shoppers, savers, givers and investors. Financial institutions of all sizes can offer a family digital wallet product through REGO as a white-labeled stand-alone application or fully integrated into their existing app.

About Q2

Q2 is a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for financial services, serving banks, credit unions, alternative finance companies, and fintechs in the U.S. and internationally. Q2 enables its financial institutions and fintech companies to provide comprehensive, data-driven digital engagement solutions for consumers, small businesses and corporate clients. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Q2 has offices worldwide and is publicly traded on the NYSE under the stock symbol QTWO. To learn more, please visit Q2.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and X to stay up to date.

About AYTM

AYTM is a fully-integrated agile consumer insights platform that lets organizations connect with verified audiences, run and analyze automated research tests, and tap into consumer voice earlier and more often.

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Source: Company press release.