Column Evert Visser

People tend to hesitate before taking the leap to buy new products or use innovative services. Which is a pity since it causes innovative solutions to take a long time to fully bloom.

The same goes for the world of banking. Communicating with consumers and properly informing them is key.

Roll camera
A certain reserve amongst consumers once again became apparent when we were shooting for the second part of our Disruptive Banking reports. We asked visitors of the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam what they thought of cellphones doubling as credit cards, debit cards, membership cards or even electronic door keys. We also probed the enthusiasm for ATMs that accept cash deposits or can get you insured or credit cards with free gift plans.

Roll camera. A woman has the following to say about a cellphone doubling as a banking device: “I’m not sure whether that would really be for me. I think I’d wait to see what others think of it.”

Another lady, a little down the road near another market stand, is afraid of losing her multi-functional cellphone. “You’d lose a lot of information all at once, and the cellphone might become a little too interesting for others.” Responses that reveal a level of doubt based – I think – on a lack of knowledge. Don’t worry. Payments made with the cellphone will be secured with a PIN code.

No experience
Although some people showed genuine interest in banking innovation, a lot of the responses displayed a general lack of faith. Why is this? Besides the aforementioned lack of knowledge, people have trouble imagining doing things differently, partly because they don’t know anybody who has any experience with the new products or services. The hands-on experience of a friend or relative with a certain product usually has a bigger impact than a full spread article in the newspapers. Another likely reason for the negative attitude is the amount of criticism received by banks over the past year.

The film continues and we notice a number of people being less than enthusiastic about getting presents from banks.

Narrow mindedness
“If I want to receive presents, I’ll look on the Internet.” And “If I want to buy a new kitchen, it annoys me if I get offered a chance to win a trip to Italy. I just want a new kitchen, nothing more, nothing less.” A good example, I think, of Dutch narrow mindedness.

I remain positive, because it always takes a little time for innovative concepts to properly settle in society. When the Internet started gaining ground towards the end of the nineties, a lot of people were still skeptical. And look at the net now! It’s almost like the Internet has always been there and more importantly: it’s almost like we can’t do without. Which I think is actually the case.