Facebook, in a shift that has evolved slowly over time, now sees itself as a channel between traditional financial institutions and their customers, particularly considering the prevalence of mobile channels in people’s lives.

Nine in 10 U.S. checking account customers already use mobile devices for at least some retail banking activities, according to Facebook’s recently released Financial Services Insights Report. Deepanjan De, Head of Industry, Financial Services at Facebook, told Bank Innovation that seamless mobile experiences are now expected by younger and older generations alike, regardless of the extent to which they actually use them.

He said while brick-and-mortar retail remains popular, customers are looking for more choices when it comes to integrated in-branch experiences and personalized online services. He said millennials especially are taking an “a la carte approach” to banking, meaning they’re using fintech products and services alongside everyday checking accounts from traditional banks.

“It is not about the number of banking services available,” De said. “Instead, customers today demand a suite of services integrated services to fulfill the online and offline ecosystem they live in.”

Nearly half of millennials in the Facebook survey agreed they want the ability to conduct all retail banking actions online, without the need to visit a physical branch, compared with 26% of customers age 35 and older. But younger and older customers both want retail banking “with a human touch,” as 67% of millennials say that “feeling understood” by their financial provider is an important signifier of trust, compared with 58% of customers 35 and older.

Nine in 10 millennials said they’re “interested in interacting with banks on messaging apps,” although just 46% of customers 35 and older agreed.

In an interview with Bank Innovation, De discussed some of the opportunities that the digitization of banking presents for Facebook and other social platforms. An edited version of his conversation with Bank Innovation follows.

BI: What is Facebook focusing on when it comes to financial services?

DD: Every conversation about Facebook’s role in the financial services industry is grounded in mobile, and how we can help our financial services partners accelerate the digitization of the services that they offer across the consumer and small business customer segments. Through our advertising solutions and engaging surfaces such as Video, Instant Experiences, and messaging we help financial services brands drive resonance and bottom line growth. In addition, we’re focused on working with our partners to help drive commerce through solutions like Instagram Shopping and Marketplace, and peer-to-peer payments on Messenger.

BI: What are the big challenges and opportunities for social media platforms, given the changes happening in the financial services space?

DD: Mobile has permanently changed consumer expectations, such that people now expect an incredibly high degree of mobile functionality. These expectations apply whether they’re looking to manage their day-to-day financial needs or planning for larger events like buying a home or retirement. We’re seeing this trend particularly among younger consumers — the people that have potential to be life-long customers — so, it’s important for our partners to put mobile at the center for their customer in order to meet these demands. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger are the mobile solutions that financial services brands should turn to in order to reach these people that matter most to their business.

While mobile represents a massive opportunity, it’s not without challenges. We’ve seen the way people consume content on mobile change rapidly, and nothing better exemplifies this than the rise of Stories. We launched Stories on Instagram in 2016 and today we continue to see fast adoption of Stories, with Facebook and Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp each having more than half a billion daily actives. We know that ads that are built or optimized for mobile drive better results for brands; however, it can be difficult for advertisers, regardless of their industry, to move quickly to stay ahead of these changes.

BI: What do the survey results tell you about the role Facebook can play in financial services?

DD: We learned from our research that Facebook can play an enormous role in financial services, whether traditional banks or fintechs, primarily by helping these businesses connect with consumers where they’re already spending their time. The survey shows that 65% of checking account customers, and 78% of those age 18-34, say they’d like to see more financial content in their Facebook or Instagram feed. Specifically, they’re looking for content about products and services that make their life easier, customer reviews, and information on sales or deals that can help them save money. We also learned that 90% of checking account customers 18-34 are interested in interacting with banks on messaging apps, such as Messenger. We think there’s enormous potential for us to continue to partner with financial services and help deliver this type of personalized content and drive connections across our platforms.

BI: How is Facebook already working with traditional banks and fintechs and how might those dynamics change as everything goes increasingly digital?

DD: Facebook provides traditional banks and fintechs with unprecedented reach and the ability to drive connections, engagement, and opportunities for transactions. Throughout all stages of the shopping journey, from evaluation to purchase, our platforms enable financial services providers with access and opportunity to reach these potential customers. Not only do we provide a platform for brands to bolster their mobile presence, but we also provide the market efficiency to make these connections at scale.

These dynamics may shift as messaging becomes even more important to people and businesses on our platforms. Today, we’re already seeing that 1.3 billion people use Messenger every month and, as we saw, the majority of younger consumers want to be able to connect with banks on messaging apps. Because messaging is fast and convenient, many businesses have begun to use it effectively in order to increase sales, improve customer service and set up automated interactions with people. In the coming years, I expect we’ll see more and more people and financial services organizations using Facebook’s messaging tools to connect in order to meet this demand.