Nearly every brand in every category is chasing Gen Z, as marketers seek loyalty from a young generation whose spending power is expected to reach $12 trillion by 2030, prompting NielsenIQ to dub them “SpendZ.” That loyalty is not easily won, especially in the financial services industry, where members of the generation born between 1997 and 2012 have proven to be fickle.

It’s critical for financial brands to connect with Gen Z now as they stand to inherit trillions of dollars from older generations in a phenomenon known as the great wealth transfer, said David Donovan, executive VP and financial services practice lead at Publicis Sapient, which works with multiple financial brands. And legacy banks have a lot of catching up to do, he suggested.

“They’re myopic in their thinking,” he said. “They would rather chase the higher margin through baby boomers with a lot of money right now. They’re also not connecting with Gen Z in the channels they frequent.”

Forty-four percent of Gen Zers banking with traditional financial institutions swapped banks over the last year as they sought mobile-friendly services like peer-to-peer payments, according to an April report from PYMNTS.

As they look to adapt, established players must fend off spirited competition from the likes of PayPal and Klarna, which have launched debit cards, credit cards and checking accounts within the past few months, blurring the lines between online fintech companies and legacy banks.

Meanwhile, buy now pay later (BNPL) brands continue to battle with credit cards to be consumers’ go-to service for making purchases without paying the total cost upfront. Young shoppers are increasingly relying on BNPL to avoid high interest rates and credit score requirements associated with credit cards. Data firm Adobe Analytics predicts shoppers will spend 11.4% more this holiday season using BNPL than they did last year.

Successfully marketing financial services to Gen Z requires a multifaceted approach that leans into the demographic’s diverse interests and values. 

Below, a closer look at some financial marketing tactics that resonate with Gen Z.

Also read: 5 of the best Gen Z marketing strategies in 2024

Passion-point marketing

Some brands have found success marketing around Gen Z passions such as sports, music and gaming—promoting that their services enable young consumers to purchase things related to those fandoms.

“Our service is what makes culture accessible for customers,” said Jinal Shah, chief marketing officer at digital BNPL company Zip. “It gives our audiences the flexibility to participate in culture through sports or concert tickets, buying the latest video game in installments or participating in the latest flash sale on their favorite streetwear website.”

In October, Zip launched a campaign that followed Las Vegas Aces player and brand ambassador Kelsey Plum through a pre-game tunnel walk, with the message “pay how you want” so you can “play how you want.” The spot visually depicts the WNBA star buying a purple purse in four installments. 

Shah recognized that not everyone seeing the ad would be a Plum fan but maintained that targeting subcultures is more valuable.

“Mass resonance almost doesn’t matter anymore,” she said.

Mastercard adopted an experience-first passion-point marketing strategy more than a decade ago. It allocates “a good amount” of its marketing budget to sponsoring esports teams and tournaments, fashion shows, music festivals and sporting events, Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard, said. 

Most recently, it sponsored the McLaren racing team at the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. It hosted two lounges, gave away reduced-price tickets and put creators on the ground.

Appearing at events like the F1 race has allowed Mastercard to grow its brand value in the eyes of fans who are often Gen Z, Rajamannar said. The brand’s reduced-price ticket drops each sold out in under an hour, making them one of Mastercard’s fastest-selling experiential perks ever.

“When someone comes and peddles their products versus coming to you and talking about your passion, you obviously react and relate better to me than somebody else,” he said.

F1 has become increasingly popular with young women. In November 2022, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said the organization had grown its global female fanbase to 40%, up from 8% in 2017. The fanbase is also highly tuned into the world of arts and culture, which prompted Mastercard to extend its existing partnership with Cirque du Soleil to perform ahead of the race and reveal the McLaren racecar’s paint job adorned with its logo.

“We differentiate ourselves by understanding audiences extremely well,” Rajamannar said. “We tailor our presence and our offerings and our communications within the context of their finer nuances.”

Also read: Art Basel turned into an influencer marketing hotspot

Inclusive and purpose-driven marketing

Financial service companies can also appeal to Gen Z consumers with inclusive campaigns.

Gen Z’s brand preferences are shaped by diverse communities, according to an April study from programmatic advertising platform Direct Digital Holdings. More than 80% of Gen Z respondents said diverse consumers significantly impact their brand preferences and choices.

Citi has represented Paralympians in its advertising for years. It released ads during the Paris 2024 opening ceremony in July that showed athletes Alice Tai and Trey Jenifer flipping questions about the cause of their disabilities on their heads by responding with tales of their athletic achievements. 

“It’s part of the suite of things we do that we think is good for consumers and the world and is consistent with the brand we are and how we reflect to consumers,” said Elyse Lesley, head of U.S. personal banking marketing and franchise development at Citi. 

Mastercard has also found Gen Z receptive to purpose-driven marketing efforts such as its Stand Up To Cancer campaign. It created physical and digital placards for people to honor someone impacted by cancer at the MLB All-Star Game on July 16 and on social media. Creators encouraged social media users to participate, earning the brand four Shorty Impact Awards.

Financial literacy

Gen Z is just getting started with its financial journey, said Citi’s Lesley. Depending on a person’s age, they may be signing up for their very first bank account or pivoting to more complicated services such as opening an investment account or taking out a mortgage.

Either way, promoting financial literacy is key for any bank trying to reach the demographic, Lesley said.

“We’ve got to not assume through the imagery and copy and the way that we articulate the value proposition that they get what we’re talking about,” she said. “You can’t be presumptive when it’s someone’s first in any of these major milestones.”

For example, when the bank launched its Citi Shop browser extension for cardholders to automatically apply savings when shopping from certain online merchants, it couldn’t simply tell customers to download it. Instead, it created marketing messages that explained how it works and provided use cases. Blog posts and videos explained how to enroll a Citi credit card and redeem percentage or amount back offers when checking out with online merchants.

Banks and digital payment companies commonly run campaigns promoting financial literacy. In October, Cash App updated its “That’s Money” campaign from Kendrick Lamar’s creative collective, pgLang, with an ad depicting people in a barbershop discussing how to save money.

Recent news: NerdWallet plans its first Super Bowl commercial

Bestowing financial wisdom to young consumers on social media, especially through creators, is a tricky feat that requires the close eye of a brand’s legal team due to regulatory concerns, said Derekh Froude, creative director at social agency Swift, part of the VML network. Swift runs Venmo’s social accounts.

When Venmo does work with creators, they have to frame any financial advice as how they would personally approach a topic, Froude said.

“Even then we have to really pay close attention to those scripts and Venmo’s legal has to be really involved,” Froude said. “The brand can’t be seen as recommending how you spend your money.”

Creators and celebrities such as Logan Paul have recently drawn the ire of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in high-profile lawsuits for market manipulation, particularly related to promoting various forms of cryptocurrency.

The severity of potential penalties makes the category sensitive to social media as a whole, Froude said, adding that hopping on trends can be difficult when a legal team needs to approve any usage of intellectual property.

“It takes a little rigor in thinking about how to be part of the cultural conversation as a financial service company,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s people’s money. It’s a very serious vertical.”

Froude’s team has gotten adept at participating in trends that don’t require legal approval, he said. The agency posts content centered on the relationships between people paying each other through the Venmo app. Memes are often fair game, so long as they aren’t directly tied to IP.

“We don’t try to convince [Venmo’s legal team,]” Froude said. “It’s a losing battle and a waste of time. We know the kinds of stuff we can jump on.”

Publicis Sapient’s Donovan maintained that financial service brands must take advantage of relatively safe ways to reach Gen Z on social media.

“Gen Z is always going to go there first before they engage with a financial advisor,” he said. “I understand it’s regulation-heavy, but some content can be straightforward advice without legal implications. Explaining why it’s important to build your credit score or avoid too much debt is not something that’s going to put you in a legal position.”

Banking for teens

Family banking plans that give parents control of their children’s accounts are another tool that can satisfy consumer desires for financial literacy support, Donovan said.

Bank of America is making the family banking account it first launched in September, which is geared towards parents with children younger than 16, available nationwide this month. Parents can give their children their first physical or digital debit card, set spending limits and access educational materials on saving and budgeting, building credit, investing and home ownership. They can also transfer ownership of the account to their child, giving Bank of America an easy way to secure the next generation of customers.

The account is designed to introduce opportunities for parents to inform their kids about key financial topics. When announcing its family account, Bank of America cited one of its surveys, which found that 90% of parents believe they’re responsible for teaching their children financial literacy and 61% start talking to their kids about money by the age of 10.

Bank of America isn’t the first financial service brand to roll out banking products designed for families. JPMorgan Chase, Capital One and Venmo all have cards or accounts geared towards kids.

“People crave financial literacy and they don’t get it in school,” Donovan said. “There’s nothing on balancing a budget or a checkbook or explaining what a credit card is and how you use it.”

Brand partnerships

Financial services companies are partnering with one another in areas where they don’t overlap to reach broader groups of consumers. For example, Klarna in October partnered with Apple Pay to make its cards available within the digital wallet. It launched the partnership with an ad showing astronauts completing purchases from their Apple Watches on an alien planet similar to Mars.

Fintech brands also can reach large audiences by partnering with established corporations.

For instance, Plaid has seen success as an intermediary moving money between traditional banking accounts and apps such as sportsbooks, Donovan said. The fintech firm allows people to connect their bank accounts to various apps to move and deposit funds between the two.

“Any time people can transfer one account into another that’s completely digital, I find that partnership has been good,” Donovan said.