In partnership with

In this issue

ICYMI: Top reads of the week

Deep Dive: Gen Z & Millennials Are Over FinTok: Why Banks and Finance Leaders Need to Step Up

Meet the Future of Finance: Why Wellthi?

Poll: How did we do this week?

ICYMI

🎓 A Third of GenZ Invest by ‘Early Adulthood’, Poll Finds
A third of Gen Z is investing before they even graduate. Let that sink in. They’re not waiting for Wall Street’s approval—they’ve got apps and Reddit. But they’re also getting hustled by crypto hype and shady influencers. Who’s showing up with real financial education and tools they can trust? (Source: Financial Times)

🤖 AI Financial Advisers Target Young People Living Paycheck to Paycheck
AI-powered financial apps are sliding into Gen Z’s DMs promising to fix budgets and kill debt—but a lot of them are pushing subscriptions and new debt right back at users. If your “solution” preys on paycheck-to-paycheck folks, congrats—you’re part of the problem. We need tech that builds, not bleeds. (Source: Wired)

💳 Inside the AmEx Brand Strategy Winning Younger Consumers 
How American Express made the corporate card cool again by ditching the stiff banker vibes and going full lifestyle-tech—offering personalized perks, frictionless UX, and premium experiences that speak Gen Z and millennial fluently while most banks are still stuck on hold. (Source: The Financial Brand)

🏦 Gen Z is Ready to Switch Banks—What Are You Doing About It?
Gen Z isn’t loyal—they’re smart. Over half say they still trust traditional banks for now—but only if those banks bring the heat with fraud protection, slick digital tools, and personalized experiences. If you’re not innovating, they’re out. Next-gen customers expect next-gen service. Get with it or get ghosted. (Source: BAI)

👀 Credit Unions, You’re Not Cool (Yet)
Credit unions and community banks—you have one shot to win Millennial and Gen Z trust. Drop the excuses, invest in tech, and own your social mission. Embedded finance isn’t optional. Stop playing defense and start building (Source: AlgoPear)

📱Want Younger Customers? Start Acting Like You Know Them
Millennials and Gen Z don’t just want digital—they demand it. Think social, mobile, transparent, and socially responsible. Traditional banks are finally waking up, investing in partnerships with fintechs to stay in the game. TL;DR: If you’re not meeting them where they are, you’re irrelevant. (Source: Baker Hill)

The newsletter every professional should be reading

There’s a reason Morning Brew is the gold standard of business news—it’s the easiest and most enjoyable way to stay in the loop on all the headlines impacting your world.

Tech, finance, sales, marketing, and everything in between—we’ve got it all. Just the stuff that matters, served up in a fast, fun read.

Look—over 4 million professionals start their day with Morning Brew’s daily newsletter, and it only takes 5 minutes to read. Sign up for free and see for yourself!

Check it out

Credit Karma’s latest report on #FinTok has some compelling new insights that I had to share. If you think Millennials and Gen Z are just loving the #FinTok life, hanging on every word from some random dude in sunglasses telling them how to beat the stock market—think again. We’ve been burned. And we are not happy. 

Yes, 77% of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials turn to social media for financial advice. But guess what? A full 39% of Gen Z and a third of Millennials now say they will never take financial advice from social media again. Why? Because bad advice has real consequences. 

This means that younger generations are desperate for trusted, expert financial guidance, but they don’t know where to get it. Enter banks, credit unions, and community development financial institutions (CDFIs)—the OGs of financial education. The ones that actually care whether people make smart money moves instead of just selling some get-rich-quick nonsense.

What the Numbers Say

The Future of Social Finance:  Moving Beyond FinTok

For a while, social finance was fun, fresh, and full of potential. Young people weren’t getting financial education in school, and suddenly, influencers were breaking down budgeting, investing, and credit in 30-second videos. It felt accessible. It felt empowering.

Then reality hit.

In other words, it was often bad advice, delivered with a confident smirk, and millions of young people acted on it. Some lost their savings to crypto hype. Others tanked their credit scores by following TikTok "hacks." Some got hit with massive tax bills because an Instagrammer told them they didn’t actually need to report their Venmo side hustle income. (Spoiler: The IRS does not care what TikTok told you.)

What Young People Actually Want to Learn About

So, what’s next? Millennials and Gen Z aren’t just giving up on financial education; we’re looking for better sources. We still want answers to big money questions—we just don’t want them from someone who’s making a commission off their bad decisions. 

Here’s what Millennials and Gen Z are actively seeking help with:

Why Banks & Financial Institutions Are Exactly What Millennials & Gen Z Need

Here’s where banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions can absolutely dominate. Young people already trust them.

Translation? Young people actually want your help—they just don’t know where to start.

Banks and financial institutions have always been about financial education, community support, and doing right by customers. Unlike sketchy fintech apps and social media gurus, established financial organizations have zero interest in pushing high-fee accounts or risky investments. This is what makes them the perfect antidote to social media misinformation.

The Playbook: How Financial Institutions Can Win Over Disillusioned Millennials & Gen Z

Alright, let’s get into solutions. Banks, credit unions, and financial organizations already have the expertise, the mission, and the trust. Now, it’s just about showing up in the right ways. Here’s how:

Young adults are drowning in money confusion, and they want someone to talk to. Financial institutions should offer one-on-one financial coaching—in person, online, even via text. Make it easy, non-judgmental, and personalized. Make sure your financial advisors and coaches look like the communities they are trying to serve. 

Instead of generic advice like “save more”, imagine a bank rep saying:  

AI can help you do this. That’s the kind of support Millennials and Gen Z are craving.

Millennials and Gen Z love tech, and they love rewards. Combine the two:

The easier and more interactive you make it, the better.

Forget boring PowerPoints. Try:

The goal? Make learning about money feel accessible—not like a lecture from a finance professor.

One reason young people got burned by social media? Lack of transparency. Banks and financial institutions should double down on their reputation as honest, no-BS financial institutions.

If you do decide to invest in a creator on social media, make sure they are legit. Nobody wants fake advice. We are sick of celebrities hawking products and services that we know they would never use. The people want authenticity.

The best example of this is J.P. Morgan Chase’s “Heart of it All” partnership with Kevin Hart. What happened to that?

Millennials and Gen Z are done with shady social media advice. They want real, honest, expert financial guidance, and they already trust financial institutions more than social media influencers.

The question is: Are financial leaders ready to step up?

By showing up online, offering personalized help, and making financial education engaging, banks and financial institutions can become the go-to resource for the next generation of financially savvy customers.

Gen Z and Millennials are looking for a financial BFF they can actually trust.

It’s time to slide into their DMs.