At their best, financial services firms undergird much of what makes a nation’s economy dynamic and safe, and support continued economic growth and well-being. Their products and services should make life easier for customers, and lending should enable people to build organizations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

But high-profile unethical behavior and financial crises have soured much of the public on the industry. There’s also the broader point of finance firms becoming “rent seekers” that profit from fees and interest as opposed to creating lasting value for societies through sustained economic growth. The financial industry hasn’t been particularly adept at explaining how its actions benefit the rest of the population.

A study by Even Financial found that 92 percent of millennials think banks are not to be trusted. This is an even greater problem than it appears on the surface because more than half said they didn’t have anyone to turn to for financial advice.

Time and again, polling data show that millennials want to do business with companies that prioritize having a positive impact on the world. According to a Gallup survey, millennial banking customers switch their primary bank about 2.5 times more often than baby boomers.

Established banks cannot ignore these trends. They need to start communicating with the public—and the younger generation specifically—about their sense of purpose: what they value and which goals they’re working toward. It’s about attracting this generation as customers as well as employees. Here are just a few ways financial services firms can make a positive impact on the world through their business practices.

Central banks, regulatory agencies and financial firms all have roles to play in expanding the availability of financial services and products to additional regions and underserved populations. Typically, people associate “underserved” with low-income segments, but the term also applies to people who are excluded because of a disability.

“Biometrics voice solutions and further advancements in artificial intelligence can actually accelerate the visually impaired audience’s entry into mainstream banking,” said Varun Mathur, a senior manager of business consulting at Publicis Sapient. 

Digital technology can help make banking more accessible to everyone. To thrive, individuals and businesses need access to affordable and functional services that suit their needs.

According to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database, 1.7 billion adults throughout the world do not have access to basic financial services, such as transmitting money, storing money in a secure place or developing a credit score.

Companies should incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns into their investment decision-making. Clients, analysts and even the public are increasingly demanding that businesses take active ownership of their societal impact. Relevant issues include climate change, deforestation, human rights, working conditions, board diversity and political donations.

Social consciousness and goodwill aren’t the sole drivers toward ESG. The DWS Research Institute analyzed thousands of academic articles on the relationship between the consideration of ESG factors and corporate performance over the past 50 years. It found a significant and bilateral ESG–CFP correlation, leading to the conclusion that being a good firm (considering social and environment factors) is good business.

“Firms and investors can feel encouraged that on first glance competing financial and moral motivations do supplement each other,” the report reads.

More than 4,000 signatories worldwide support the six Principles for Responsible Investment. This voluntary and aspirational set of principles was launched in April 2006 after then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan invited the largest institutional investors to help in their development. These principles include incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making, policies and practices.

Data and analytics have a role to play in ESG investments. They can ensure that the decisions and outcomes are more effective to avoid the greenwashing phenomenon. JP Morgan teamed with RepRisk to add an ESG metrics tracker to its DataQuery platform, so it’s easier for companies to factor ESG into their investment decisions.

For millennials who entered the job market amid the Great Recession, the major banks appeared in the news daily beside reports of the shady business practices and greedy behaviors. Hank Paulson, then treasury secretary and former Goldman Sachs CEO, had a difficult time justifying the bank bailouts to the American people.

That’s because most people, through no fault of their own, don’t understand the financial sector. It’s complex. They know some people are responsible for investing and circulating money, but they don’t necessarily understand how this affects their lives.

While the millennial generation struggled to find jobs commensurate with their education or to build equity in line with their predecessors, new fintech-enabled startups began to offer financial services outside the established system. In fact, these weren’t banks at all. They were tech companies. And millennials trusted those more. Recent research suggests that millennials do not trust traditional financial companies more than fintechs.

To change perceptions of the industry, established banks will need to understand the needs and concerns of consumers and provide banking experiences that help them achieve their financial goals, which, in turn, will help them achieve other life goals. It’s also about providing them the digital-first, ease of service they’ve come to expect and the ability to integrate financial services into their daily lives.

Survey data from the Banking Digital Trust Report 2021 show that good customer experiences via digital services are essential for attracting and retaining customers. U.S. banking customers who had higher-than-average levels of trust were far more likely to be satisfied, open new accounts with their existing bank and engage overall. For respondents with higher-than-average digital trust, 80.6 percent were satisfied with their bank. But of those with lower-than-average-digital trust, only 59.3 percent were satisfied.

Major banks will need to articulate their mission and values in an open and authentic manner. Then they will need to make good on those promises.

The U.S. federal government offers various forms of assistance to people affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. But just as banks need to heal the wounds left by the 2007–2009 financial crisis, they have a major role to play in ameliorating these financial hardships.

The 2021 DLI found that 58 percent of respondents said they could contact their bank and find information online, but only 39 percent felt supported when receiving COVID-19 assistance or advice.

Regulators are increasingly requiring banks to track the impact of their lending on the environment, which requires better data and analytics.

The United Kingdom’s leading banks are actively talking about their purpose. As a principal partner, NatWest is heavily involved in the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. In fact, NatWest is the conference’s only banking partner.

NatWest’s proclaimed ambition to become the world’s leading bank in addressing climate change manifests itself in offering financial support for the transition to a net-zero carbon economy and committing to its own goals: making its operations climate positive by 2025, cutting the climate impact of its financing activity by 2030, and reaching net-zero financed emissions by 2050.

Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest, has spoken at length about the importance of building purpose-led banks.

“The way people live their lives has changed,” Rose said. “And their expectations of companies are changing too, looking for us to deliver not only financial performance but a positive contribution to society, benefitting customers and communities as well as shareholders. The future of this bank depends on us successfully delivering on both.”

Any organization interested in rising to these challenges would benefit from digital transformation. Whether expanding financial inclusion, connecting with customers, gauging investments or responding to climate change, financial institutions are more effective with rich, dynamic data and cloud computing.

A bank’s response to a customer’s plea for help, especially during distressing times, might not unilaterally change the public’s perspective of a particular bank or industry, but it might change the perception of that individual. Regardless, financial institutions shouldn’t be driven to have a positive impact on the world to win fans or favor—although that is nice. They should aim to leave the world better than they found it. The accolades and positive press will be byproducts.

The banking sector needs to return its focus to people and society. By harnessing new technologies, it can do just that.