If Banks Don’t Know Gen Z Customers Personally, They Won’t Know Them at All
By Morgan Smith, Contributor at The Financial Brand
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Executive Summary
- 72% of Gen Z and 55% of millennials want banking experiences tailored to their needs and financial aspirations, starting with onboarding.
- Bank marketers can leverage peer and family influence through authentic reviews, social campaigns, and family-focused product features.
- The true effectiveness of personalized marketing campaigns can be measured by tracking referrals, product adoption and share of wallet.
Personalization isn’t just a trend for Gen Z and Millennials — it’s now an expectation. Growing up with Instagram feeds engineered to their interests and Amazon recommendations that anticipate their needs, these younger customers demand the same level of relevance in all aspects of their lives. Managing their finances is no exception.
A staggering 72% of Gen Z expect banking tailored to their goals, while 55% of millennials want a more personalized digital banking experience.
Together, these two generations present an outsized market opportunity for regional and community financial institutions. Millennials, now aged 28-44, are at the life stage where they are adding mortgages, investment accounts and other financial products, while Gen Zers, now aged 13-28, are beginning to form their first banking relationships.
Layer on top of that the looming, multi-trillion-dollar wealth transfer from aging Baby Boomers, and the stakes — and opportunities — for winning over younger consumers are even higher.
Both Millennials and Gen Zers seek proactive guidance, seamless digital experiences and communications that reflect their specific needs and life stage.
Targeted offers and broad campaigns no longer cut it. “Gen Z and millennials grew up with customization,” says Aggie Tuxhorn, senior VP and CMO at Skyward Credit Union. “They can spot a one-size-fits-all approach instantly, and it feels out of touch.”
For younger consumers, personalization comes down to trust, transparency and credibility — qualities that determine whether they see a financial institution as a true partner or another generic provider.
Personalized experiences aren’t just about meeting customers’ expectations; they’re a smart way to drive growth. Financial institutions that use data to tailor offers, messaging and channels can build trust, boost engagement and convert younger consumers into long-term, multi-product customers.
As Tuxhorn explains: “Personalization can drive loyalty with Gen Zers and Millennials if you can prove you know who they are and what they need, whether it’s saving for college or buying their first home.
Want more insights like these? Check out MX’s content hub: Data in Action
Personalization Starts at Onboarding
The first 90 days of a banking relationship often determine whether a customer stays or shops around. For Gen Z and Millennials, onboarding should feel seamless, relevant, and tailored.
“Personalization isn’t just putting a name on an email or app welcome page,” Tuxhorn says. “If you tell someone to sign up for e-statements they already have, you’ve shown you’re not paying attention.”
Skyward pairs human guidance with digital convenience to personalize onboarding: new members can open accounts via live video with a specialist, then finish setup via text, app, or online, configuring alerts, e-docs, and budgeting tools from day one.
Marilka Velez, senior director of marketing at Associated Bank, tells The Financial Brand that her team has designed adaptive onboarding journeys that adjust based on whether a customer activates features like mobile deposit or bill pay. “Some want everything in a month, others over two or three months,” she says. “The key is measuring what resonates and customizing the onboarding process accordingly.”
In terms of what personalized features and digital tools these young customers might be looking for in the onboarding process, data gives us a clue.
Recent research from Vericast has found that Millennials and Gen Z alike are looking for personalized budgeting tools (36% and 44%, respectively) as well as advice on saving and investing (39% for both), debt management guidance (30% and 23%), and credit score monitoring (33% for Millennials, 29% for Gen Z).
By treating the first 90 days as a personalized journey instead of a generic checklist, institutions can quickly prove their value and deepen loyalty with younger consumers.
Choosing the Right Channels for Personalized Marketing
For Gen Z and Millennials, where and how a message lands is as important as its content.
Short-form video dominates: “TikTok, Instagram and YouTube match their social footprint and shorter attention spans,” Sharon Cook, vice president, marketing strategy at Vericast, tells The Financial Brand. “That’s where you’ll probably win the most and the fastest.”
Recent research solidifies this claim. According toone report from Intuit Credit Karma, 77% percent of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials seek financial advice online or via social media, with YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok most popular for Gen Z. Millennials favor YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Gen Z and Millennials’ penchant for scrolling presents a prime opportunity for financial institutions to engage younger consumers through personalized, short-form educational content.
Associated Bank leverages influencers to make financial literacy — and their latest app features — relatable to Gen Z and millennial consumers.
“For our influencer strategy that we launched last year, we worked with bigger influencers like Charlie Berens, as well as more micro-influencers with regional connections,” Velez explains. “We tapped into their humor, Midwest culture, and values about money in day-to-day life, and connected that messaging back to real tips and advice that younger customers can trust.”
She adds, “With some of our micro-influencers, we were able to have them specifically talk about features within the bank app… how can I use this to control my finances better, just have a better view of what’s going on and reach my goals… bringing in a little more personal fun into their day-to-day lives.”
Dig deeper:
- Generation Z Wants It All and Wants It Now. But They Also Need Help
- AI Search Is Scoring Bank Reputation. If You’re Under 4.2 Stars, Trouble is Brewing
- Close the Gen Z ‘Relevancy Gap’ Now or Watch Them Leave
Email remains a reliable touchpoint, especially when paired with personalized in-app messaging. “Email is a workhorse, especially when paired with personalized in-app ads,” Tuxhorn notes. Text messaging and chat features also engage younger members, especially when used thoughtfully and opt-in.
Even traditional channels can leave a strong impression. “Millennials and Gen Z like to receive personalized printed mail,” Cook explains. “It’s novel because their inboxes are already inundated, so when they get something in the mail, it feels personal and relevant.”
For banks and credit unions, the key is a multichannel strategy that meets younger consumers where they are. Combining digital, mobile and select physical touchpoints ensures personalization resonates and drives long-term loyalty.
Don’t Underestimate Peer and Family Influence
Peer and family recommendations heavily influence younger consumers. Millennials are 38% more likely than other generations to discover brands through friends or family, and 77% of Gen Z follow peer recommendations over traditional marketing.
Skyward Credit Union’s July 2025 “ Love My Credit Union” campaign tested this hypothesis. Using NPS survey data, Skyward identified members likely to recommend the credit union and encouraged them to share experiences via online reviews or social media. The results: 63% email open rate and 3.5% click rate, far above typical campaigns and a surge in positive word-of-mouth.
“Gen Z and Millennials lean heavily on family recommendations when choosing a financial institution,” says Cook. “That’s an opportunity to market not only to young adults but also to their parents, who can influence where kids open accounts.”
At Associated Bank, parental feedback drove family banking features with debit card controls and oversight. “These tools met parents’ needs and introduced Gen Z and even Gen Alpha to our brand,” Velez adds.
The takeaway: Financial institutions should leverage peer and family influence in personalized marketing. By encouraging authentic reviews from advocates and designing products that engage parents and children, institutions can create relevant, trust-building campaigns that resonate with younger consumers and strengthen relationships with the next generation.
Microsegmentation Matters
Personalization works best when it goes beyond age brackets and generational labels. Microsegmentation allows banks to deliver messages and offers that feel genuinely relevant.
“Instead of casting a wide net to 80,000 people, personalization targets the 25,000 actively searching for a product like an auto loan, ensuring your message not only resonates but drives measurable action,” Cook says.
Tuxhorn cites a recent email campaign to encourage more Skyward customers to open checking accounts with the credit union as proof. One version targeted customers who only had a savings account with Skyward, while another targeted customers who had auto loans only.
“The first email had messaging like, ‘earns like a savings account, acts like a checking account,’ while the other stressed how easily members could make loan payments if they also had a checking account with us,” Tuxhorn explains. “We saw an immediate increase in engagement and conversions because we refined our messaging based off what would motivate younger consumers in different segments.”
Effective microsegmentation pays off with higher engagement, stronger trust and deeper product adoption across generations.
What’s more, “Institutions that excel at personalization cut down marketing waste,” Cook adds. “They’re not targeting everyone…they know exactly who they want to attract and speak directly to them.”
To gauge the impact of personalization efforts, bank marketers should track outcomes beyond basic engagement metrics.
“Go beyond open and click rates,” Tuxhorn says. “Look at share of wallet, number of services per household, and whether customers see you as their primary financial institution. Track referrals, reviews, and social conversations. If members recommend you and share positive feedback online, your personalization efforts are working.”
