Financial Well-Being Is Under Pressure — A Strategic Priority For Banks

Financial well-being has become a defining challenge — and opportunity — for financial services firms. Against a backdrop of persistent economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and rising borrowing costs, consumers on both sides of the Atlantic are feeling the strain. Our newly published reports — The State Of Financial Well-Being In The US and The State Of Financial Well-Being In The UK — provide a timely, data-driven view of how customers are coping and what financial institutions must do next.

Financial Strain Is Widespread — And Persistent

Across both markets, consumers are grappling with a combination of rising living costs, higher interest rates, and income growth that is failing to keep pace with inflation.

In both the US and the UK, this combination is eroding confidence and putting pressure on households’ ability to manage day-to-day finances, absorb shocks, and plan for the future. Consumers are increasingly worried about their financial situation — and expect this pressure to continue in the near term.

For financial services executives, financial vulnerability is not limited to traditionally underserved segments. It is expanding into the mainstream.

Financial Well-Being Is Multifaceted — And Deeply Personal

Financial well-being goes beyond income, savings, or debt levels. It reflects an individual’s ability to manage their current finances, feel in control, and maintain confidence about the future.

This means that two customers with similar financial profiles may experience very different levels of financial stress, depending on their resilience, expectations, and life circumstances. For firms, this underscores the need to move beyond traditional segmentation and toward a more nuanced understanding of customer needs.

Our reports apply Forrester’s Financial Well‑Being Segmentation to uncover these differences and help firms identify where they can have the greatest impact.

Financial Well-Being Is A Growth Lever — Powered By Better Experiences

Many firms still treat financial well-being as a compliance requirement or a corporate responsibility initiative. But that mindset is outdated. Improving customers’ financial well-being is increasingly central to:

Customer trust and loyalty. Customers are more likely to engage with institutions that help them improve their financial outcomes.
Revenue growth. Supporting better financial decisions can unlock more relevant product adoption and deeper relationships.
Risk management. Financially resilient customers are less likely to default or require costly interventions.

Financial well-being is a core driver of both customer outcomes and business performance. And digital experiences are central to unlocking this value. Advances in AI and data are increasingly enabling firms to deliver more human-centered, intuitive, and personalized interactions — repositioning digital banking from a reactive service to a proactive partner in customers’ financial lives.

From Insight To Action: Where Firms Should Focus

The data in these two reports points to three immediate priorities for financial institutions:

Diagnose financial vulnerability dynamicallyMove beyond static metrics like income and credit scores to continually assess customers’ financial resilience, behaviors, and sentiment. This requires combining transactional data, behavioral signals, and contextual insights to build a more accurate, real-time view of financial health.
Embed support into intelligent, proactive journeys

Design for outcomes, not productsShift from product-centric journeys to experience orchestration focused on enabling financial progress. Reframe success metrics around customer outcomes — such as improved financial resilience or goal attainment — and align product design, personalization, and engagement strategies accordingly.

A Call To Action For Banking Leaders

Financial well-being is rising up the agenda for regulators, policymakers, and customers alike. But the firms that will lead are those that go further — treating it as a design principle for the entire customer experience. Our new US and UK reports provide a clear starting point: a detailed view of where customers stand today, how needs differ across segments, and where firms can intervene to drive meaningful impact. The next step is execution — rethinking experiences, not just products — to help customers navigate uncertainty and build long-term financial resilience.

If you’re a Forrester client, you can dive deeper by reading the full reports: The State Of Financial Well-Being In The US and The State Of Financial Well-Being In The UK. Forrester clients can also schedule an inquiry or guidance session with me to explore this topic further and discuss implications for their own strategy.

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