While you may get wiser as you age in many aspects, it does not seem to be the case financially. After 55 years of age, the ability to make good investment decisions deteriorates, especially for those who develop Alzheimer's or dementia. It is estimated that annual losses due to the exploitation and abuse of the elderly is between $3B and $37B, which is a great concern especially as baby-boomers reach old age.
Banks have been slow to respond to this, but are beginning to create ways so that it is easier for the elderly. For instance, Barclays has introduced voice recognition technology to help those who have trouble remembering their password. Banks are also considering giving family members "read-only" access to older loved ones' accounts so that they can monitor their payments and try to ensure that they are not making unwise financial decisions. It's encouraging to see that banks are moving in the right direction with this issue.
https://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21716598-banks-need-strategies-helping-vulnerable-elderly-customers-elderly
3 comments:
I thought that this article was interesting to read and brought up a problem that I have not thought about before. its true with age people can become more confused when doing things and banking is one of those things. it will be interesting to see how they come up with a solution to catch scammers and if they will find a way that the elderly can have someone look over there finances to make sure that they are not making any unneeded purchases or falling into a scam. I think it is important to inform the elderly of what kind of questions these scammers might ask so they don't fall for the trick.
I think the idea of having safe guards in place so that the elderly are less likely to fall victim to scams or poor financial decisions is good. I do, however, wonder what the elderly think of these ideas. A study should be done to determine the elderly population's attitude towards these sorts of measures and what they think needs to be done to prevent fraud. I do think banks should take more measures to make sure relatives are also not taking advantages of the elderly family members they take care of.
I agree with the above comments that banks need to take swift action to ensure measures are put into place to help the elderly protect their themselves financially. Something that can be created to help secure bank accounts is through the finger print scanner all iPhones and many Android phones have these days that can securely log users into their accounts without the need to input a password that can be difficult to remember at times. As Cierra has mentioned above I do wonder if the elderly will be welcoming of more technology in their lives because some enjoy the old school routine.
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