“Top Gun: Maverick,” the sequel to the original 1986 movie, is one of my favorite films. Thirty years after the original film takes place, Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, finds himself as a Top Gun instructor on a special mission to destroy a secret uranium refinery. The mission requires precision, coordination, and weeks of preparation, with a low chance of all the pilots returning home safely. It isn’t clear if the mission will even be a go until the dramatic moment when Cyclone, the Admiral overseeing the mission (played by Jon Hamm), decides the team is up for the challenge and commands, “Send ’em!”
Our Mission: Global Financial Health
The original “Top Gun” introduces the idea of using knowledge and teamwork to drive success. “Top Gun: Maverick” takes this idea a step further, highlighting the need for both highly skilled teams, complementary technology, and cooperation to create a successful mission in a changed geopolitical landscape.
In the same way, financial inclusion sets the stage for a more complex and holistic financial health movement. Together, they can create tremendous impact. Financial inclusion gives consumers the access they need to high-quality financial tools, which are an essential component of financial health. But financial inclusion strategies alone have a minimal impact on consumer outcomes, and unbanked figures both in the United States and across the globe have been trending toward zero. The latest FDIC figures find 95.5% of U.S. households are banked and worldwide account ownership has reached 76%, an increase of 50% over the last decade.
We need to evolve and grow beyond financial inclusion. It’s not enough just to open the doors for people without setting them up for long-term success. Global practitioners, subject matter experts, and thought leaders define consumer financial health as a consumer’s ability to smooth short-term finances, build resilience against economic shocks, set and achieve long-term financial goals, and have confidence in their financial future. Leading financial institutions across the globe understand the business case for improving customers’ financial health: Having financially healthier customers improves customer tenure, drives satisfaction, and creates more cross-sell opportunities. These institutions are eager to center their business strategies around financial health and have asked the Financial Health Network to help them along this journey.
Defining the Mission and Need: Success Is a Team Sport
The Financial Health Network recently undertook a study to better understand how to catalyze private financial sector action on financial health globally, with the support of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and with advice and assistance from the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).
One major takeaway? More support and collaboration is needed. Financial institutions worldwide have few mechanisms that promote learning from peers and support best practice deployment, particularly on topics that involve new ways of thinking and operating. Management consultants, specialized IT firms, market research firms, local banking associations, and regulators that banks use for more routine advice do not offer support on financial health.
The Moonshot: A Global Financial Health Platform
Global financial health practice in the financial sector is still in its early days. Despite leading institutions’ best intentions, additional support and a practical knowledge base are required to embrace financial health as a core component of their business strategies. A collaborative financial health learning platform that builds on and connects the work of members and partners does not currently exist, but is critical to future success.
A global financial health platform would:
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- Assemble a body of financial health knowledge through research, toolkits, and case studies from institutions that have already implemented solutions successfully.
- Support financial services providers in developing and implementing financial health strategies and solutions.
- Convene financial health working groups and facilitate knowledge-sharing among financial institutions and to a broader audience.
- Facilitate dialogue on financial health between the private sector and policymakers.
The learning platform would provide action-oriented resources for integrating financial health across a financial services company’s business lines and departments, complementing existing financial inclusion efforts.
Board the Carrier: Global Financial Health Is Taking Off
The work conducted by the Office of the UNSGSA team and the Financial Health Network shows that financial institutions globally are ready to embrace financial health as a strategic priority. They will require resources and guidance along the way, but demand is evident.
Regardless of their physical footprint, regional politics and policies, or competitive pressures, banks around the globe are embracing financial health as a strategy by aligning their business objectives to improving consumer outcomes. As more institutions seek actionable information and peer learning opportunities, your voice and viewership are needed. The Financial Health Network will continue to identify and collaborate with like-minded institutions to bring our vision to life.
Join us as we build a team of top-tier financial health practitioners from around the world to take on our mission of improving financial health for all.
For more information and to discuss ways to get involved, please reach out to Trey Waters at twaters@finhealthnetwork.org or Brenton Peck at bpeck@finhealthnetwork.org.
