All-round branding superwoman, financial advice champion and our chief marketing officer Elizabeth Basten was asked by human behavioural consultancy Canvas8 to speak about how MyEva is changing the face of personal finance in the UK. Her insights were included in Canvas8’s case study, MyEva: Personalising money advice for Britons, which is available to their members, who have access to a range of reports via their Global Library.
Below, we share 10 of the most compelling points from MyEva: Personalising money advice for Britons, especially for the MyEva community:
1.There is a reticence to seek out professional financial advice, especially since it is viewed as the exclusive purview of the wealthy, says Elizabeth Basten, chief marketing officer at Wealth Wizards. “Getting regulated and independent financial advice can, for some, be intimidating and perceived as ‘only for the wealthy' or even just 'not for me',” she says. “The 'human' drivers in the design of MyEva are to help build rapport and trust whether you are financially savvy, or a complete financial knowledge novice.”
2. In the UK, economic insecurity is widespread. Statistics show that one-third (30%) of the country is concerned about their level of debt and 40% say their finances are permanently precarious. These difficult times have resulted in 63% of Gen Yers being worried about their financial future. The MyEva platform could help to educate people and pacify their worries about their financial situations, at a time when 62% of people say that they want to save, but simply can’t.
3. In 2018, 4.5 million people in the UK received regulated financial advice, up from 3.2 million in 2017. However, this represents just one in ten people, meaning that millions are still going without advice. To close the gap, AI is being used to reach more people. “The convenience of MyEva’s chatbot is something that users have come to expect from their everyday digital experiences, relevant to an 'on-demand' customer expectation,” says Basten. “Why shouldn’t the advice market give the same level of convenience when it comes to helping them with some of the most important financial decisions of their lives?” In fact, 35% of people want more companies to use AI to answer their questions, and 69% would opt for a chatbot over a human because they want an immediate answer.
4. The ability for MyEva to nudge users into good habits could well be an effective way of ensuring that people take their finances more seriously. Nudges have been seen to increase the likelihood of action by as much as 250%, helping to form – and maintain – positive financial habits.
5. Considering 22% of people in the UK believe that they will never be able to afford to retire, the appeal of platforms like MyEva is clear. With 47% of Britons feeling ‘uncertain’ about their money situation in retirement and old age, financial advice that is available to all, easy to navigate and to access, and digital-first offers pan-generational appeal.
6. A study conducted by Portafina, a financial advice firm, found that 41% of Britons believe there is a lack of education around pensions, 32% say that the pension market is too confusing, and 84% want plain-English, jargon-free pension documents. “Jargon in any industry is a barrier,” says Basten. “A chat with MyEva is designed much like a texting conversation. MyEva is responsive, she’s expressive, she speaks to people in everyday language.”
7. Globally, 68% of people are willing to receive automated advice about planning for retirement, and 39% believe that automated advice would be faster and more convenient than human advice.
8. 63% of Gen Yers report being worried about their financial future (Revolut, 2019).
9. In 2018, just one in ten people in the UK received professional financial advice (Financial Advice Market Review, 2018).
10. 48% of Britons feel uncomfortable having conversations about money (Lloyds Bank, 2018).
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