For marketers targeting financial services audiences, understanding the neobank landscape reveals where consumer banking behavior is heading and how to reach customers who increasingly manage money through apps rather than branches.

We look at how buying Brex fits into Capital One’s long-term payments strategy.

Consumers believe the use of AI makes it harder to detect scams, according to a recently published report from risk-management fintech Alloy. It also found that fraud prevention and security measures are top factors for 97% of respondents when they choose a bank. Customer trust is paramount to a financial institution’s survival, and anything that erodes that trust can prompt them to switch or avoid certain banks altogether. With AI changing the scam landscape dramatically in just a few years, banks must accordingly invest in modern technology—including their own AI tools—and customer education.

A minor technical failure took down Amazon Web Services (AWS) for several hours. Disrupted financial apps reportedly included Chime, Coinbase, and Venmo. Some financial institutions (FIs) were also reportedly affected.A mistake in a digital transformation project or a poor choice of vendor can have far-reaching consequences for a bank’s customer relationships and compliance with recordkeeping regulations. The solution for banks that can afford it has been redundancy through hybrid deployments to the cloud and on-premise.

In today’s episode, we talk about whether the “American Dream” is less achievable, or just different, how this new economic reality has reshaped consumer behavior, and how brands are marketing aspiration differently. Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development, Rob Rubin, Senior Director of Briefings, Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst, Paola Flores-Marquez.

Improving mobile banking app functionality and adding tools and resources all in one place offers benefits to financial institutions (FIs) and their customers. But a recent Forbes analysis points out that FIs that want to move toward offering a super app should know the risks. A super app should be the potential outcome of a successful, deliberate strategy rather than a blind goal. Banks should incrementally enhance their offerings by integrating useful tools and resources. And they must rigorously prioritize security against high-value cyber threats and address customer privacy concerns with absolute transparency, especially when involving third parties.

The findings: Financial institutions (FIs) that have enabled buy now, pay later (BNPL) for debit cards see increased card usage frequency, higher spending, and larger purchases, per recent equipfi analysis cited by The Financial Brand. Why this matters for FIs: The BNPL explosion is over, as user growth decelerates and the industry reaches maturation. But FIs can still find value in BNPL. By integrating BNPL directly into existing debit card programs, banks stand to increase card usage, strengthen customer loyalty, and boost revenues. This strategy also turns debit cards, a very traditional banking product, into something that can better meet consumer needs. Today’s banking customers crave flexibility—and it’s especially important to Gen Zers.

In today’s episode, ​we talk about the promise and challenges financial media networks face in the burgeoning commerce media network landscape.​ Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development Rob Rubin, ​Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano, and Senior Analyst Max Willens.

The news: We’ve covered banking customer anxieties about inflation, tariff chaos, and broader economic warning signs. Banks have been offering products and advice to help customers plan for the future and strengthen their financial standings. But some financial institutions (FIs) may be failing to address customers’ more pressing financial needs. Our take: For customers showing signs of financial stress, banks must pivot from long-term planning advice to addressing immediate financial survival. This requires delivering highly personalized, practical guidance on urgent concerns like budgeting and debt management. To identify customers in need of help, FIs can analyze their financial health, emergency savings, and how often they nearly or completely empty out their accounts to pay their bills. These steps can prove the FI’s value and build trust in the short term.

Macroeconomic uncertainty and an overreliance on Cash App led the company to slash its full-year guidance

It wants to become a one-stop shop for businesses and consumers alike

The deal received conditional regulatory approval, shaking up the card space and larger financial service industry

Over a third of adults in the region don’t have a bank account. Only the Middle East and Africa has a larger proportion of unbanked consumers, per 2021 World Bank data analyzed by BCG. And the unbanked population is unevenly distributed: Just 59% of low-income consumers and 40% of rural inhabitants in Latin America have access to a banking account, per a January 2023 Mastercard and Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) survey.

We list the key takeaways from EY’s survey of Gen Zers.

A large majority of US adults under 35—60% of adults aged 18-24 and 62% of adults aged 25-34—mainly use a mobile app to interact with their bank, according to September 2024 data from Fico.

Nonbank lenders face lighter regulatory oversight than traditional lenders, allowing them to take on more risk when it comes to AI. When used in the lending process, AI can speed up approvals and communications while personalizing service.

Timing ad buys to seize on key engagement windows: Our Industry KPI data reveals Gen Z has predictable spikes in searches for apparel, gaming content.

This bodes well for fintechs trying to build out their financial services offerings.

In today’s episode, we talk about whether regulators will allow, and consumers will adopt, AI over human financial advisors. Will AI close or widen the wealth gap? What happens if an AI financial advisory loses your money? Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development Rob Rubin, and Analysts Lauren Ashcraft and Jacob Bourne.

Younger banking customers care more than their older counterparts about banks’ diversity.