First-Ever Precisify Finance Report Reveals People Trust Creators and Banking Apps for Financial Knowledge and Products
New Precisify Insights: Finance 2026 report shows U.S. adults are turning to YouTube to learn and compare financial products as app-based banking moves into the mainstream
NEW YORK and LONDON — July 6, 2026 — Precisify, the cross-platform media intelligence pioneer redefining how brands and agencies maximize return on ad spend, today released Precisify Insights: Finance 2026, a new report examining how U.S. adults discover, research, compare and act on financial products across YouTube, social video, app-based banking, AI-enabled finance tools and digital content environments.
Based on a proprietary panel of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18–55, the report finds that financial decision-making is increasingly happening inside digital-first environments. Consumers are using apps to manage their money while turning to YouTube and social video to build financial knowledge, compare products and take action.
The findings also challenge traditional assumptions about how financial services brands build trust. Banks, advisors and owned channels remain important, but consumers are increasingly arriving at those touchpoints after they have already learned, compared and validated options through YouTube, social video, finance creators and app-based finance environments.
As trust, education and product consideration move closer together, YouTube is influencing actions that once happened much later in the consumer journey. After watching finance videos on YouTube, U.S. adults report taking or considering actions including visiting a brand’s website, changing budgeting or saving habits, downloading a finance app, signing up for a financial newsletter or course, and opening or considering an investment or bank account.
“YouTube, creators and apps are becoming central to how people learn about, evaluate and act on financial decisions,” said Denis Crushell, Chief Commercial Officer at Precisify. “The data shows that trust, education and consideration are no longer separate stages in the finance journey. Consumers are building confidence through content, comparing products in digital environments and taking real actions, from downloading apps to changing habits and considering new accounts. For finance brands and agencies, relying only on traditional reach, search or owned channels risks showing up too late. Context, timing and audience intelligence are now essential to reaching people when decisions are actually being shaped.”
The report also shows that digital-first financial behavior has moved well beyond early adopters. Online-only and app-based banks now nearly rival traditional banking among U.S. adults, with 41% actively using an online-only or app-based bank compared with 47% using a traditional bank.
That adoption is strikingly consistent across age groups, reaching 44% among adults aged 18–25, 40% among adults aged 26–35, 43% among adults aged 36–45 and 40% among adults aged 46–55. For fintech, neobank, investing, credit, lending and insurance brands, the findings point to a mainstream digital finance category where trusted content and smarter media targeting can shape consideration earlier in the consumer journey.
“The findings reinforce what we’re seeing across consumer finance: people are increasingly discovering, researching and validating financial products in digital-first environments before they ever arrive at a brand’s app or website,” said Travis Witteveen, Head of Products and Portfolio at Gen, whose family of trusted consumer brands includes MoneyLion, a leading financial technology platform. “As app-based banking becomes mainstream and more consumers turn to YouTube and social video for financial education, the opportunity for financial brands is to meet people with clear, trusted and useful content at the moments they are already learning, comparing and ready to act.”
YouTube is also becoming a regular destination for financial literacy, personal finance, investing and money-management content. Almost one-third of U.S. adults watch finance-related content on YouTube every day, while another 26% watch two to three times per week. More than half of U.S. adults also prefer YouTube for financial “how-to” content, ahead of TikTok, podcasts, written articles, short-form video and email newsletters.
The report also points to the growing role of creator-led finance content in major financial decisions, while showing that the broader YouTube environment may be more trusted than individual finance influencers alone. Among main household earners, YouTube is the most trusted listed source for financial advice and information at 17%, ahead of financial advisors at 15%, TikTok at 12%, search engines at 11%, finance influencers at 5% and podcasts at 4%. Meanwhile, 20% of U.S. adults say a recommendation from a finance influencer would be most likely to influence them to make a new financial decision.
That trust and creator influence are translating into consideration and action. Among main household earners, 72% have used YouTube to compare financial products or services. In addition, 36% say they frequently contact a financial professional or firm because of an ad they saw on YouTube, while another 26% say they have done so once or twice.
Together, the findings show that financial services brands can no longer treat YouTube, creators, apps and digital content as peripheral channels. They are increasingly part of where financial trust, confidence and consideration are formed. Download the report here.
About Precisify
Precisify (formerly Precise TV) is a cross-platform media intelligence pioneer redefining how brands and agencies maximize return on ad spend. Powered by proprietary audience panels, intent signals, contextual data, and agentic AI, Precisify delivers zero-waste precision across YouTube, Mobile Gaming and Influencer. Its technology maps real customers to the exact content that influences them, and then builds custom, brand safe plans that eliminate the trade-off between safety, scale and success. The company operates globally with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Salzburg. The business recently secured a £21 million ($26 million USD) investment from LDC, the private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, further accelerating its global growth and innovation roadmap. For more information, visit https://precisify.com/.
###