How to determine the fintech preferences of the Internet audience?

This week I would like to draw your attention to a study by Gradus Research Company “DIGI • NATSIA: the main segments of the Ukrainian audience on the Internet”. The survey involved 1767 respondents (men and women aged 18–60) from cities with a population of more than 50 thousand. As a result of the study, the population of Ukraine was divided into 6 segments. These groups describe the behavior of Ukrainians on the Internet. In the blog, I analyzed the results of the study, and also expressed my assumptions regarding the consumption of fintech products by each of the segments.

Let’s start with those 6 groups: moderate, pragmatist, uninvolved, еntertaining, gossip, advanced. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Moderate

Moderates make up 29% of the population of Ukraine. These are people who consume low-intensity Internet content and rarely use social networks, but actively use instant messengers. 42% of these people live in cities with a population of one million, 78% have higher education, 98% of their actions are carried out via a smartphone.

The classic banking app is probably the most used fintech product for this group of people. The presence of sufficient technical education, the instant use of a smartphone and messengers speaks of the choice of convenience and benefits that this solution provides. The banking application is already a fairly familiar product for us and allows us to simply and clearly use bonus systems, interest-free loans, quickly block the card if necessary, etc.

Pragmatists

24% of the population are pragmatists, 72% of whom are women. Most of this group lives in Kyiv and has a higher education. The Internet is a way to get education, earn money or pursue professional interests. They monitor the safety of personal information, actively use banking services and online conference services.

Representatives of this group, most likely, use banking services through a browser. They not only make payments, but also use deposit, credit and other services. This group compares and monitors all offers on the market, and it is easiest to do this in a browser. Internet banking for many Ukrainian users is more a matter of habit than an innovative bank service, which is what pragmatists are content with.

Uninvolved

This group makes up 18% of the population of Ukraine. Most of the representatives live in small and medium-sized cities, as well as 20% of them in the western regions. 94% of this segment use the Internet at home, and 32% use a desktop computer. The Internet for them is a secondary, situational and uninteresting source of information and communication.

Most likely, this group mainly pays for purchases in cash. If a person owns a bank card, then he probably withdraws all the money from the card on payday. The first step towards non-cash payments can be the use of the terminal. The experience of recharging the card and the convenience of the first contactless payments through Apple Pay and Google Pay will significantly accelerate the transition of the segment not involved in the moderate group. After all, it’s worth starting somewhere!

Entertaining

This segment makes up 12% of the population, and 51% of those are men. This group uses both smartphones and desktop computers. Their priority is socialization. They use search engines more often than others, downloading music, games, and videos. This segment is a regular user of YouTube and messengers.

Since this is a young group (25–44) who choose smartphones (98%), they most likely use fintech products for their own convenience and speed. Therefore, neobanks are the best solution for them. There are several reasons for this:

- fast client onboarding

- convenient UX / UI of the mobile application

- operational 24/7 contact center

- 100% interaction “Bank-client” online

Neobanks use every step of their users to fully understand the life and needs of their clients, their role is to identify and offer the client the most relevant service at the moment.

Gossip

11% of Internet users attributed to the group of gossips, as they often use social networks, comment and repost. These are the leaders in using the Internet at home, but they are not comfortable and difficult in the network. For this segment, 44% of which are without higher education, this is a source of situational information. The study hypothesized that the gossip segment was generated by the COVID reality.

It is difficult to unequivocally assess the attitude of this group towards fintech solutions. If they are active users of social networks, then, probably, they often make payments on the site, directly in social networks or chat bots. To make a purchase, it is no longer necessary to leave the house, but with the emergence of the opportunity to pay for goods in the chatbot, the buyer does not even need to leave the messenger. Such services are provided, for example, by Facebook and Telegram. However, the level of knowledge about fintech products and their capabilities among this group may remain low.

Advanced

The last and smallest group of Internet users is the advanced, who make up 6% of all users. It is dominated by men. This segment is young people (18–24) who are “obsessed” with the Internet. They are content creators, they talk about personal things, they express emotions on the Internet. This group collects information about people and products online.

The advanced segment is the most financially active, preferring accessibility, speed, convenience and control of their finances. Advanced people quickly adapt to new fintech solutions and greatly simplify their lives. Representatives of this group can use several neobanks at the same time, each time choosing the most profitable one. Or they have tried a lot of solutions and found for themselves the one that meets all their requirements and preferences.

The report shows how the habits of Ukrainian users differ depending on the place of residence, education, age, financial situation, etc. The derived tendencies directly affect the attitude towards fintech products. We are once again convinced that today fintech solutions are understandable and accessible to the younger generation, residents of big cities, smartphone owners and more tech-savvy people. However, I think that in 5 years we will see completely different figures.