Institutions No Longer Control Financial Education. Algorithms Do

Younger consumers now search for money guidance on platforms like TikTok and YouTube before they ever consider a bank website. Kelly Ball, CEO of Pathfinders and assistant teaching professor at the University of Notre Dame, argues there is no structural reason financial institutions cannot take a leading role in the attention economy and reclaim influence with modern consumers.

“You have to commit that this is important. Then go figure out how to make it work,” he says.

Bottom line: Financial education is a competitive growth channel. Institutions that treat it as strategic infrastructure rather than marketing filler will win relevance with the next generation of accountholders. Those that do not risk becoming invisible at the exact moment consumers form lifelong financial habits.

Need to Know:

• Only 17% of young people report receiving financial education from their bank, leaving a major opportunity for institutions to engage early and build trust.
• Financial creators win attention by posting consistently with relatable guidance, banks that match this cadence can turn internal expertise into visible, trusted content.
• ROI is measurable when success is defined across engagement, awareness, and long-term influence, not just last-click conversions.

The Attention Economy Is Rewriting Financial Trust

Financial institutions have long assumed that customers will come to them for guidance, but that model is fading. Roughly 28.5% of Americans who seek financial advice now turn to social media — a larger share than those relying on employer programs, traditional media, or podcasts. For younger audiences, that number is even higher, highlighting the growing influence of TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn in shaping financial knowledge and decisions, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

“What holds organizations back isn’t capability. It’s the instinct to wait until something is perfect instead of showing up consistently with useful guidance,” Ball says.

To remain relevant, financial institutions must meet consumers where they are. That means building a consistent presence on the social and digital platforms that their audiences actually use. Research underscores the opportunity: less than 20% of young people report receiving financial education from their bank, according to Santander Bank. That gap represents both a risk and a market opportunity — if institutions do not fill it, someone else will, and that someone may not be qualified.

To compete, leaders should:

• Audit where target segments search for financial answers.
• Compare their content visibility against independent creators.
• Identify high-volume questions customers already ask frontline staff.
• Map content topics directly to product education gaps.

Influencers Are Applying Persuasion Science Better Than Banks

Financial creators succeed by applying persuasion principles studied by behavioral expert and psychology professor Robert Cialdini, using social proof, authority, and relatability to make content simple, consistent, emotionally engaging, and highly effective. Institutions can achieve similar results by putting knowledgeable staff in the spotlight. When employees share expertise publicly, their guidance reaches audiences and is favored by algorithms.

AI and automation tools can help with research, drafting, and topic ideation, but they cannot replace judgment, compliance oversight, or credibility. Used wisely, these tools free teams to focus on strategy, personalization, and audience engagement.

Financial institutions can close the gap by:

• Prioritizing recognizable internal experts as public educators.
• Building repeatable content series rather than one-off posts, supported by tech for research and drafting.
• Simplifying language to match audience comprehension levels.
• Designing content for mobile-first consumption while using technology to streamline production without sacrificing oversight.