After a long two weeks on the road, I’m finally back home in the Netherlands (if a bit jet lagged.) I’m 3/7ths of the way through my fall conference circuit, with Finovate, MX’s Money Experience Summit, and LoanPro’s Salt Flats Summit behind me.

Last month, I spoke at an event hosted by the Federal Reserve. The theme of the event was “Unleashing a Financially Inclusive Future”.

Recognizing the diversity within nontraditional work—and designing for it—must become the new standard.

Financially healthy customers are good banking customers — and banks offer financial health products strategically to attract and retain them. But for those products to be useful, customers must use them. Do they?

Since 2018, the Financial Health Network has conducted the Financial Health PulseⓇ research initiative to identify national financial health trends.

Consumers have been feeling the brunt of inflation since it started surging in mid-2021. The Federal Reserve has been trying to combat inflation by raising interest rates. And while that's helped, living costs are still elevated as of early 2024.

I keep thinking about this column from Alex Johnson last month around financial health and savings. To me, one of the biggest disappointments around the past decade of fintech innovation is how little we are moving the needle for the financial health of consumers.

Learn to steer clear of these loans, which are great for the lender but horrible for your wallet.

People often fake it. We fake our physical ailments, we fake our emotional stability, and we fake our level of happiness. We nod along when asked. We put a smile on our face even if it doesn’t reflect what we’re feeling inside.