Are financial wellness products merely window dressing for banks?
Financially healthy customers are good banking customers — and banks offer financial health products strategically to attract and retain them. But for those products to be useful, customers must use them. Do they?
Financially healthy customers are good banking customers: they generally have control over their finances demonstrated by paying debt on time, keeping higher account balances and holding a larger variety of accounts at their financial institutions. With the concept of financial wellness creating buzz, many banks offer financial health products strategically to support, attract and retain good customers. But do they really have the desired effect?
It’s quite simple: In order for financial health products to have an impact, customers need to actually use them. Eighty-eight percent of banks and credit unions said in a 2023 Forrester Research survey commissioned by Personetics that less than half of their customers actively use the financial health tools they provide. Almost a third of respondents said 5% to 24% of their customers use the tools they offer; over half said 25% to 49% of their customers use the tools; and only 12% of banks and credit unions said that over half their customers use the tools they offer.
“Financial health tools and resources can be hugely beneficial for consumers — if they are surfaced at the right time and place,” says Heidi Johnson, senior director of behavioral economics at the Financial Health Network. “A consumer may not be aware of what their bank offers to help address their financial needs if these resources are siloed on their bank’s website. By embedding these tools within the customer experience, banks can better deliver on the value that these resources can offer.”
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