The pandemic has given us all a chance to become more refined digital natives – including the Baby Boomers and generations that have been historically slow to adopt technology.

Indeed often the generational gaps have different value drivers, understandings of the technology’s benefits, and general trust in technology. But with the pandemic, more of these generations were forced into the online space, completing digital transactions and connecting with friends and family online.

A key for retaining these customers beyond the pandemic will be perfecting the user experience to make them more comfortable and offering further products to keep them engaged. Embedded finance offers an integrated and painless way for seniors to engage with fintechs and frictionless payments – if offered with tact and care.

As elsewhere amid the great digital shift, there’s a clear generation gap. Older users are both skeptical and vulnerable when it comes to interacting with the very apps that could make their online financial lives a bit easier.

We’ve laid out 2 of the main problems that fintechs must address in order to attract, serve, and retain these older cohorts:

Packaging & Access

To put it in real-world terms, a consumer opening a Venmo account or setting up the Starbucks app is more than likely unaware that they are establishing a regulated financial account, whereas they may be more aware when setting up a traditional checking account at a bank.

However, these same consumers know what sort of experience they want. They know they’re buying into a service that will let them buy what they want, and perhaps earn loyalty points, in a controlled environment. If the experience meets or exceeds those expectations, the brands will win more customers and cement their loyalty.

In the case of senior-orientation, many of these apps or systems can tailor the experience to be eaiser to read & navigate, particularly focusing on products tied to health care and bill-pay.

Education & Trust

Older generations can be vulnerable to scams; with conscious efforts directed at education and online hygiene, these generations can safely access fintech innovations to make their lives easier.

An informative, user-friendly onboarding experience can go a long way toward addressing this innate mistrust. Let customers know what data is being collected — and what it’s being collected for — on a low-level account, and they’ll be more comfortable when they step up to a bigger one, all within a trusted environment. Eventually, these same users will feel comfortable providing their credentials and account information when setting up accounts on an open banking platform.

Healthcare represents a natural fit for older customers to start interacting with apps, entering their data and, ultimately, transacting.

While these two hurdles may seem daunting, a little more time spent on UX/UI and the specific needs of seniors can go a long way to securing these potentially-lucrative customers.