Digital Financial Education

Chapter 1 of the series establishes a baseline measurement of Americans’ levels of digital financial literacy and examines how that shapes their online banking behavior. Chapter 2 of the series examines how Americans use digital sources and social media to discover and harness financial education content ranging from traditional tutorials to peer-to-peer advice to financial tips. The report also looks at the role that digital financial literacy (DFL) plays in equipping Americans–across generations and life journeys–to assess the validity and accuracy of online financial education content.

Chapter 1 

• Overall, about 55% of Americans are digitally financially literate, meaning they scored high in both digital literacy and financial literacy.

• Survey respondents overwhelmingly said they prefer to use digital channels to manage their finances.

• Among consumers enrolled in digital banking, many consumers – even those with low digital literacy – conduct routine financial transactions online or on mobile apps.

• Consumers with low financial literacy use online financial tools more often.

• Digital financial literacy increases with age. Older consumers tend to rank high in both digital and financial literacy. By contrast, younger consumers tend to score high in digital literacy but low in financial literacy. 

Chapter 2 

• Most Americans (about 72%) use digital platforms for their financial education. A quarter of these consumers report learning from their bank’s website or mobile app in the past year.

• A large majority (over 80%) of consumers, regardless of their financial literacy levels, trust their bank’s website or mobile app to learn financial management concepts or tips.

• While a majority of Americans (79%) reported an interest in learning financial concepts, only about 55% learned a new financial management concept in the past year. Three quarters of all respondents with low digital financial literacy (73%), however, reported learning financial management concepts in the last year.

• Survey respondents reported using search engines (25%), their bank website or mobile app (25%), online videos (22%), and social media (16%) to build financial knowledge.

The series findings highlight an opportunity for a coalition-based approach among financial institutions, government agencies, regulators and technology companies to ensure credible financial education is readily accessible to all.