FMI

CMO Digest

Beyond the Basics: How Financial Literacy Is Powering Consumer and Corporate Investment Confidence

In this CMO Digest article, Financial Marketing Insights' Founder, Jacob Howard, considers recent reports by a number of leading consultancies and reflects on the power to inform and empower your audience.

For years, financial literacy campaigns were synonymous with basic product education. What is a mortgage? How does compound interest work? What’s the difference between a current account and a savings account? These foundational efforts were essential, but they rarely moved the needle on consumer engagement or long-term financial wellbeing. In 2025, however, financial literacy has taken on a new shape - one that’s more ambitious, more strategic, and more intimately tied to investment empowerment.

This shift is not just semantic. It reflects a broader transformation in how financial brands position themselves: not merely as service providers, but as trusted guides in a complex, volatile financial landscape. According to Taboola’s 2025 Financial Services Marketing Trends report, content marketing initiatives focused on financial literacy are now seen as core to customer acquisition and retention strategies, especially among younger demographics.

The stakes are high. Mintel’s latest insights show that 63% of UK consumers under 35 say they want to invest but “don’t know where to start”. That’s not a failure of product availability - it’s a failure of communication. Financial marketers are increasingly recognising that the real barrier to entry isn’t lack of access, but lack of confidence. And confidence, unlike access, can be built.

This is where the new wave of financial literacy comes in. It’s not about explaining what an ISA is - it’s about helping someone decide whether a stocks & shares ISA, a Lifetime ISA, or a cash ISA aligns with their goals. It’s not about defining ETFs - it’s about showing how ETFs can be used to balance risk and return in a beginner’s portfolio. The best financial brands are now creating content ecosystems that do just that.

Take Monzo and Moneybox, for example. Both have invested heavily in educational content that blends simplicity with strategic depth. Their in-app explainers, blog posts, and social media series don’t just define terms - they model decisions. They walk users through scenarios, offer comparisons, and even simulate outcomes. This isn’t just marketing - it’s mentorship.

Capgemini’s 2025 Financial Services Trends report reinforces this point, noting that “customer-first transformation” now includes “the value of products and services as understood through educational engagement”. In other words, the perceived value of a financial product is increasingly tied to how well the brand helps the customer understand it.

This has implications for channel strategy too. Video content - once considered a nice-to-have - is now central. Fintel Connect reports that financial brands using short-form video to explain investment concepts saw a 27% increase in engagement and a 19% lift in conversion rates compared to static content. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels are no longer fringe platforms for finance - they’re frontline.

But it’s not just about format. Tone matters. The most successful financial literacy campaigns in 2025 are those that strike a balance between authority and relatability. They avoid jargon, embrace storytelling, and acknowledge uncertainty. They don’t just say “invest early” - they show what that looks like for someone earning £30k a year, renting in London, and unsure about pensions.

This is where financial marketers must tread carefully. The line between education and advice is thin, and regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. As Taboola notes, “navigating compliance while delivering actionable content is now a core competency for marketing teams”. The FCA’s Consumer Duty framework has raised the bar, requiring firms to demonstrate that their communications genuinely support consumer understanding and decision-making.

In many countries, such as the UK, it's clear that the rules will soon change, but no one knows exactly how. This is the perfect moment to wheel your content machine into action - to explain simply, clearly, and confidently how these shifts could benefit your audiences. Whether it's helping consumers understand new ISA allowances or guiding SMEs through evolving pension obligations, the opportunity is not just to inform, but to lead.

This evolution in financial literacy isn’t confined to retail audiences. In the B2B space, corporate buyers - especially those in SMEs and mid-market firms - are increasingly demanding the same clarity, simplicity, and educational support that consumers expect. But this isn’t about dumbing things down. It’s about making financial decision-making more efficient in a time-poor environment.

Business leaders are navigating complex financial choices under pressure - whether it’s selecting a new pension provider, evaluating embedded finance solutions, or assessing FX risk. They don’t have time to decode jargon or sift through dense product specs. They want scenario-based guidance, intuitive comparisons, and content that helps them make confident decisions quickly.

Grant Thornton’s 2025 UK Mid-Market Pulse Report highlights that 71% of financial decision-makers in mid-sized firms say they “prefer providers who offer clear, scenario-based guidance over technical product specs.” That’s a striking shift. It suggests that even in areas like treasury management, commercial lending, or employee benefits, the winning brands are those that simplify without oversimplifying.

This is particularly true in areas like workplace pensions, SME insurance, and B2B fintech. Deloitte’s Future of Financial Services Marketing report notes that “B2B buyers now expect the same digital-first, content-rich experience they receive as consumers.” That includes explainer videos, interactive calculators, and onboarding guides that walk through use cases - not just features.

The implications for financial marketers are profound. It means rethinking B2B content strategy from the ground up. It means replacing the “product sheet PDF” with modular content journeys that adapt to different buyer roles - finance directors, founders, and HR decision-makers responsible for employee benefits and pensions. It means using plain language to explain complex instruments, and offering real-world examples that resonate with sector-specific challenges.

And it means recognising that financial literacy in B2B isn’t just about understanding products - it’s about enabling better decisions. When a CFO chooses a new FX hedging solution, they’re not just buying a product - they’re making a strategic call that affects risk, reporting, and investor confidence. The marketer who helps them understand that decision in context earns trust. And trust, in B2B finance, is everything.

In a world where financial products are increasingly commoditised, clear communication is the differentiator. The brands that win will be those that help people make better decisions - which benefits everyone.


Sources & Further Reading