Gen Z learns about money from Instagram, YouTube: Entrepreneur asks banks to learn to communicate with young people

Banks may need to earn the trust of young customers before those customers start comparing financial products. That was the concern in a LinkedIn post by Chandralekha MR, founder of Dime.

He claims Instagram and YouTube are already influencing Gen Z’s understanding of money. Traditional banks risk leaving this learning process to content creators.

“Gen Z is already in the room,” she wrote. Her question is whether or not financial brands will meaningfully engage in this conversation.

“Young people learn through channels what to fear, what to fear, what to ask and what to trust. Finance is part of it, whether banks participate well or leave the conversation to creators, screenshots and random opinions,” she wrote on LinkedIn.

“The big new-age financial companies understand this better. They publish education, opinion, founder content, explainer and native stories from the platform. Over time, the audience learns their language and recognizes their point of view,” she added.

“Many traditional institutions still communicate that the customer will patiently visit the website, read the product page and build trust based on formal information alone. This is a dangerous assumption,” she noted.

Reaction on social networks

Several LinkedIn users supported her argument, particularly the importance of early relationship building. One LinkedIn user said that regular education can build trust before customers need the product.

“Financial institutions that consistently educate where younger customers are already paying attention can build trust long before those customers are ready to buy,” the user wrote.

Another LinkedIn user suggested that these relationships can begin years before the purchase.

“A customer’s relationship with a financial brand can now begin years before they actually buy a product from them. Brands that consistently educate themselves today can get very different customers,” the user wrote.

In response, Chandralekha said that brands that educate customers early gain the advantage of attracting them later. She argued that conversations and simple explanations connect better than static product pages.

One LinkedIn user offered the difference between rejecting banks and choosing available explanations. Young people can easily learn from who is making money, clearly in their daily social media.

“The interesting thing is that Gen Z doesn’t necessarily shun traditional financial brands; they just learn from someone who explains money in a way that fits into their daily feed. Trust is built long before anyone is ready,” the user commented.

Another LinkedIn user pointed out how accurate information alone may not attract attention. “A gap is often a translation,” wrote a LinkedIn user.

“Gen Z is learning money from creators before they are learning it from banks. The shift is HUGE,” came another user.