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Young Russians split over advisability of trusting AI with money management

More than half (52%) of young people aged 16 to 25 are wary of entrusting their money to neural networks and other AI-enabled technologies. Only 20% of this age group said they were ready to trust innovations, while another 28% of respondents were undecided on this issue, according to a survey that assessed young audience’s sentiment about modern technologies. The research was conducted by Russia’s Post Bank and the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, and canvassed over 2,000 students aged 16 to 25, including those from the university’s regional branches.

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According to the findings, young people are also cautious about cryptocurrencies: 43% of respondents do not believe cryptocurrency or other digital assets will replace conventional money in the near future; 29% are confident that virtual currencies are the future of money, and 28% are still in doubt.

“Young people are a driver for new technologies. They are always at the forefront and into everything new and modern. Their needs and views strongly influence the development of the banking industry and services. Mindful of this, we strive to maintain an open dialogue with young people, hold roundtables with them and conduct research on the future of fintech. As this survey showed, young Russians are very future-oriented, are open to new things and quickly learn to use innovations. I was delighted to find that students were very financially literate. They showed prudence and a certain degree of caution about entrusting the most valuable thing – their finances – to AI-enabled solutions that require further research. They are in no rush to abandon traditional money in favor of cryptocurrency or other digital tools. I am sure that with such savvy students, we will have a great future when it comes to technology,” Ivan Karpov, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Post Bank said.

According to the survey, the majority of respondents (40%) are not afraid to use technologies based on biometrics, 32% remain concerned about potential personal data leakage. As many as 26% said their concern was fraud, 17% are weary of total surveillance, while 14% couldn’t answer this question. Another 8% of respondents admitted that technology was a challenge and they were concerned about getting confused (answering this question, they could tick up to three response boxes).

Most often, students use biometric identification to unlock their gadgets (43%) and pay for purchases with their smartphones (22%). Some of them also use biometric systems to take advantage of banking services at bank offices or ATMs (12%), to access premises (4%) and to pay for metro rides (2%). As many as 18% of respondents said they never used biometrics in everyday life.

“With wider application of digital tools, universities can provide students with various useful services; in fact, digital services will soon blend into a single seamless system. This naturally makes neural networks a winning option that will simplify intra-university processes. At the same time, replacing our employees with artificial intelligence is not an option we are discussing; rather, we consider technology an auxiliary tool to increase workflow efficiency,” Rector of Plekhanov University of Economics Ivan Lobanov added.

Credit cards remain the most popular payment method among young people (78%), followed by cash (9%) and contactless payments using smart phones (7%). Only 3% of students pay using QR codes and the Fast Payment System; 2% prefer to wire money card to card and only 1% opt for stickers and other smart devices. However, students believe that in the future, more people will be using contactless payments with smart phones (38%) and other smart devices (25%). Fifteen percent of the poll takers see good prospects for QR payments using the Fast Payment System and digital currencies (8%). Only 2% of young people believe that cash will remain the main payment method and another 2% that it will be card to card transfers.

The most popular method of communication with banks for young people, chosen by 33%, is via mobile app chats. Fewer students visit retail branches (21%) or call the hot line (18%). In 15% of cases, young people turn to social media and 13% use messengers (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, etc.).

About 2,000 respondents aged 16 to 25 took part in the survey, including 62% aged 19 to 22, 33% aged 16 to 18 and 5$ aged 23 to 25. The majority of the survey takers (70%) were women.

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