Cooking The Books

Each week the NZ Herald's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how smartphones are changing the way we handle our cash. Hosted by Frances Cook. We've all heard about how Covid-19 forced us to do years worth of digital adoption in just a few short weeks, and now, we've got some numbers on it. The Financial Services Council carries out regular research on what's happening with our money, and their just released report on the rise of digital investors is fascinating. Forty per cent of us are either already using, or planning to use, micro-investing DIY platforms like Sharesies, Hatch, or Stake. It's not just the young 'uns either, as there's a noticeable increase in DIY digital investing in all the age groups up until about 60, where it starts to taper off. There are downsides to this though, with plenty of people worrying if this new surge in online platforms leaves them exposed to privacy problems or cyber attacks. And frankly, when we've seen hackers go after the NZX and Wa