Fin the Week

It's launch day for our new product, Corrik, so Pat and Paul talk through what they've learned in building and testing it. Corrik is an AI visibility and accuracy checker. It uses a 'source of truth' to flag when LLMs are quoting inaccurate information. The team have spent the week testing it in the financial services sector and have uncovered where it's strong, and where it needs work. If you're interested in the challenge of tracking AI accuracy, this is one for you! Chapters 00:16 The PHP Vulnerability Crisis 07:15 Introducing Corrik: An AI Accuracy Checker 15:32 Testing Corrik: Insights and Findings 26:29 Managing Online Information Accuracy 31:31 Corrik's Launch and Future Plans 36:11 The Importance of a Source of Truth 40:55 Jargon busters!

Last week, FCA CEO, Nikhil Rathi appealed to attendees of the FCA's Annual Public Meeting to continue to come up with inventive ways to track consumer outcomes. With the challenge fresh in mind, we went away and built a tool that could potentially help do just that. Using a database of around 90 search terms, and industry benchmark, and Google Trends, our Consumer Duty Search Index looks at how consumers are using search to support them. Today, we dive into the key findings! Chapters 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 02:33 Applying Google Trends to financial services and consumer duty 03:56 What is Google Trends and how does it work? 06:08 Using Google Trends to track flu symptoms and outbreaks 10:12 Building a search term database for consumer outcomes 13:15 Key findings on search trends in finance 15:21 Case studies: market reactions to events 16:26 Search trends related to vulnerability and scams 16:52 Impact of news cycles on search behavior 19:58 Using search data for regulatory insights and firm strategy 28:58 How firms can leverage search trend data 37:29 The role of AI and LLMs in consumer search behavior 38:44 Limitations and future potential of search data 40:41 Conclusion and next steps for firms and regulators

This week saw the FCA host it's annual public meeting in Edinburgh. Hosting over 900 attendees both online and in the room, the FCA were quizzed on topics from how it works with whistleblowers, Consumer Duty, AI, and more. We pick up on the technology and marketing angles present in the event and unpack what we took away. We look specifically how the FCA does (or doesn't) oversee AI, and what that means for firms in the industry. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the FCA Public Meeting and Key Themes 03:25 Human Element in Financial Regulation 05:28 Handling of Criticism and FCA's Response to Whistleblower Questions 11:14 AI Developments and FCA's Upcoming Papers 13:11 Regulation of AI and Consumer Duty Framework 14:47 Financial Advice from Large Language Models 16:12 Firm Accountability for AI and Technology Use 18:05 Targeted Support Regime and Advice Gap 20:08 Regulation of AI and Fast-Moving Technology 21:58 Lead Generation Crackdown and Data Misuse 23:50 Enforcement Actions and Data Provenance 25:59 Data Gathering and Observational Data Use 27:42 Consumer Duty and Market Impact 31:55 Vulnerable Customers and Power of Attorney Issues 37:21 Accessibility challenges and power of attorney 38:23 The FCA is appealing for support in assessing Consumer Duty outcomes 39:56 Using Data and Trends to Detect Harm 42:44 Search Trends and Financial Harm Indicators 43:32 Jargon Busters: Fiduciary Duty

It's launch week for Q4 and this edition is all about Signal Loss. Whilst demand for accurate reporting data is as high as it has ever been, access to clean and reliable web data is arguably worse than it has been since the launch of the web. To kick things off, we dig into cookie compliance and why Google Analytics (or GA4) isn't anywhere near as accurate as it used to be. Thankfully, we have a few thoughts on what marketing teams can do ahead of planning their 2027 marketing strategies! Chapters 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 00:16 Meet the hosts and episode context 01:03 Series focus on trust and signal loss in Q4 02:12 Setting the scene for tracking challenges in 2026 05:23 Technical overview of web tracking and cookies 07:18 The decline of Google Analytics and cookie compliance 12:03 The rise of third-party tracking and privacy laws 17:30 Browser controls and their impact on tracking 20:46 GA4 and the limitations of cookie-based tracking 23:23 Impact of cookie banners and user opt-in behavior 26:12 Data segmentation and bias in tracking data 30:42 Triangulating data sources for accurate insights 31:41 Design considerations for cookie banners and UX 35:39 The future of cookies and alternative tracking methods 39:55 Google’s evolving approach to privacy and ad targeting 44:48 Emerging AI tools and privacy concerns 46:26 Key takeaways: triangulation and data reliability 47:05 Jargon busting: understanding junk bonds

In July (2026), Cloudflare announced that it was going to categorise web crawlers (bots) in one of three ways: search, agent, or training. If you want to opt out of training, you can block training bots - easy, right? Not so...common crawlers such as Googlebot (critical for showing up in Google search) are classed as multi-purpose. They crawl for search purposes, but they also train AI models. In this discussion, we explain Cloudflare's strange decision to hide settings within the 'security' section and how easily a brand could trap itself into obscurity if it chooses the incorrect settings. Chapeters 00:00 Introduction to AI training and web crawling issues 01:58 Overview of Cloudflare's categorization of crawlers 03:31 Cloudflare's default settings for training and agent crawlers 04:27 The challenge of 'multi-purpose crawlers' 06:19 What is Cloudflare and how does it work? 08:14 The evolution of Cloudflare's features and internet security 09:28 The rise of AI crawlers and their impact on content security 11:36 The challenge of balancing bot access with website security 15:31 Implications for businesses and website owners 21:32 Managing crawler settings and the role of IT and marketing 24:25 Historical context and the evolution of AI and web scraping 25:48 The decoupling of impressions and clicks due to AI overviews 28:17 Cloudflare hides crawler settings within 'security' 29:39 Next steps for businesses: managing Cloudflare settings 33:20 The importance of transparency and security in bot management 38:30 The future of website visibility and AI training 42:02 Jargon busters and closing thoughts

Fresh from our annual security training with Pat, the team discussed AI-driven fraud in our industry. It's a growing challenge; according to Mitek/Datos, U.S. unsecured credit losses reached ~$2.94 billion in 2025, up from $1.8 billion in 2020. We cover some horror stories, like the UAE banking exec who was scammed by a 'deepfake' of a company Director into initiating $35m in transfers. But AI is also at the forefront of the fight against fraud. Banks are flagging potential issues sooner and apps are using smart features to show when you are and aren't on a legitimate call. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI's impact on fraud 01:48 Statistics on AI-driven fraud increase 03:44 Deepfake scams: case studies from 2020 and 2024 07:09 How scammers use AI to craft convincing emails and calls 12:50 The role of AI in enhancing verification and security 13:37 Who owns the role of tackling AI-driven fraud? 18:21 The evolution of scam sophistication and AI's role 22:29 The concept of AI prompt injection 29:58 Using AI in the battle against fraud 31:31 Balancing security with user experience 33:40 Invisible security measures and behavioral signals 36:52 Balancing data sharing for security versus privacy 41:39 Innovative UX features to prevent scams 46:47 Future outlook: AI in security and fraud detection 49:04 Jargon busters: amortisation

This week, Paul and Amelia sit down for a chat with Nick Laws, the senior creative leader behind work with Nest Pensions and the recently rebranded Centre for Inclusive Money (formerly Nest Insight). Nick chats about the tricky task of engaging consumers with their pensions. We touch upon his work alongside Aardman (of Wallace & Gromit fame) on building a national ad campaign. We also discuss the role of influencers in financial campaigns; including the Everyday Investor campaign featuring a former winner of The Great British Bake Off who baked using products that benefited from Nest pension pot investment. It's a fascinating discussion covering one of the most lively parts of the world of financial services. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Nick Laws and his role at Inclusive Money 02:28 The challenge of engaging consumers with pensions 04:17 Complexities of pension types and communication hurdles 06:32 Creative restrictions in financial promotion 09:28 Working with Aardman on the Nest brand awareness 15:37 Auto-enrollment and consumer inertia in pensions 21:43 The Everyday Investor campaign and innovative engagement 30:24 Impact of generative AI on creative work 37:54 Working on a mission-led brand and its unique aspects 39:36 The importance of purpose and authenticity in branding 40:59 Jargon busting: Understanding the black swan event

We've just updated our big guide to SEO in financial services, so this week the marketing team got together to define what SEO actually means in our industry. We outline the challenges banking, insurance, wealth management, and fintech firms face in search and what good search strategy looks like. We also outline our case for why search is a relevant factor when it comes to Consumer Duty. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to SEO in Financial Services 01:09 What is SEO and why is it different in finance? 04:36 Unique challenges of finance SEO: YMYL 05:49 EEAT: Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness 07:01 Regulatory and compliance considerations in finance SEO 11:40 Subsector differences: Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Fintech 16:38 SEO in wealth management 19:55 SEO for insurance brands 22:03 SEO for fintechs 23:22 Content strategies: FAQs, keyword research, and outdated content 27:12 Powerful keyword research using a brand name 29:28 Building a strategic approach: Technical, Content, Promotion 33:24 Navigational search and user journey optimisation 36:40 Impact of AI and generative search on SEO in finance 42:28 Consumer duty and the importance of accurate search results 45:59 Why SEO is a Consumer Duty factor 46:37 Jargon Busters: AUM

Is AI actually neutral? Is that something you've even ever thought about? Earlier this year, Paul and Mayna attended BrightonSEO and our favourite session was an eye-opening talk on the bias within AI. So this week, we're delighted to be joined by the expert behind that session, Azahara Corrales! Did you know that 71% of men vs. 29% of women report having AI skills (Randstad, 2024)? Did you know that Citizens Advice found customers in areas with high Black and South Asian populations were quoted at least £280 more for car insurance? These aren't quirks of the system, they are manifestations of a deep bias that is present in the AI systems and algorithms the world (increasingly) relies upon every day. AI consultant and adoption advisor to leaders, Azahara Corrales, has devoted time to understanding and spreading awareness of this often overlooked risk. For anyone working with AI (that's probably all of us), and any firm rolling out AI systems, this episode should be required listening! Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Azahara Corrales and episode overview 00:57 Azahara explains her focus on AI bias and its origins 01:54 Why this topic captured the interest of the hosts 03:10 The importance of understanding how AI works 03:54 Where AI bias actually comes from 05:58 Disparities in AI usage among genders and age groups 08:03 The bias triangle: builders, users, data 10:26 Research findings on gender bias in language models 12:02 The deep-rooted nature of AI bias and its persistence 13:28 The impact of biased AI in everyday life and decision-making 15:36 Self-fulfilling biases in AI and solutions 17:30 Practical advice for users to mitigate bias 19:10 Regulation, regulation, regulation: the need for oversight 22:59 The long-term consequences of unregulated AI 24:07 Bias beyond gender: race, religion, and other groups 27:49 AI in financial services and personal finance 40:17 What individuals and firms can do now 41:49 Jargon Busters: Flat money

This week we jump back into our Consumer Duty teardowns which throughout four weeks earlier this year, shocked us with the level of web accessibility issues. Of 600 issues uncovered, almost half were accessibility challenges. We're joined by accessibility expert and advocate, Luke, who takes us through what some of the terms mean, and where things are going wrong. In an area that the FCA is sure to take an interest in, this is a must listen for teams in our sector. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the episode and guest expertise 00:16 What is web accessibility and why it matters 06:24 What's the difference between A, AA, and AAA in WCAG? 10:06 What accessibility issues did we find in FS? 11:50 What, actually, is a screen reader? 17:19 FS websites are failing users who can't/don't use a mouse 20:48 Is accessibility compliance extra work? 23:15 Can AI fix accessibility challenges for firms? 30:44 Is the finance industry failing its consumers? 35:16 Is this bigger than just being the right thing to do? 43:34 Why doesn't the FCA currently mandate WCAG AA standard? 45:39 Jargon Busters: AER

This week, we kick off a discussion prompted by the conversations we've been having with our clients. More often than you might expect, we're meeting financial marketing teams who don't use AI (particularly agentic AI) anywhere near as much as they could/should. So, why is that? Chapters 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 00:16 The trust reset theme and AI in financial marketing 03:28 Why do FS marketing teams struggle to get good output from AI? 14:58 Are security fears scaring marketing teams away? 18:27 Can AI write in my brand's tone of voice? 24:45 Claude's new AI copy watermarking 33:58 Where's the line between AI you can trust, and risky use of AI? 49:42 Advice for marketing teams burnt by poor use of AI 51:25 What does the near future look like for FS marketing teams? 53:29 Jargon Busters: Zero Sum Game

Credibility gets you through the door, but trust is what makes people stay. On this episode of Fin the Week, we're joined by Indulge's newest team member, Tonicha, to unpack why financial brands can no longer rely on confident marketing alone. We dig into how consumer duty, the EU AI Act and the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements are pushing firms to evidence their claims rather than just make them, why "finfluencers" cut both ways, and how something as simple as a mortgage calculator can build more trust than a bold headline stat ever will. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the importance of trust and credibility in finance 01:42 How regulatory changes are influencing trust evidence 03:35 The role of consumer duty and EU AI Act in trust 06:26 Differentiating credibility and trust in marketing 08:19 How credibility can be faked and the importance of trust 11:03 The impact of misleading claims and greenwashing 13:58 The significance of transparency in insurance and finance 16:52 Industry examples of trust and credibility issues 19:54 Building trust through consistent messaging and evidence 22:35 The importance of easy cancellation and customer support 23:37 Credibility & trust in the consumer funnel 25:14 Does being trustworthy put firms at a marketing disadvantage? 27:43 Selling insurance on price versus features 31:53 Can marketing teams incentivise and be trustworthy at the same time? 33:45 Finluencers and the impact on trust 36:36 Risks of misleading marketing and short-term gains 39:14 The importance of honest reviews and influencer vetting 41:58 Using technology to enhance transparency and trust 45:55 Summary and key takeaways on trust and credibility 46:46 Jargon Busters: Diversification

It's Consumer Duty anniversary day, so we're rounding off Consumer Duty month with our fourth and final teardown. We take a look at life insurance and protection: the sector with 7 of the FCA's 11 open investigations. We ran a direct insurer, a comparison site, and an independent broker through UX Duty and found 109 issues between them, half of them accessibility failures. In this episode: misleading "£3 a month" headline pricing that hides eligibility criteria in tiny asterisked footnotes, pre-ticked marketing consent boxes that breach GDPR, sites that make it nearly impossible to reach a human for a complaint, and a wrap-up of what four teardowns (12 firms, ~600 findings) reveal about where financial services UX keeps failing consumers. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Consumer Duty Teardowns 02:16 Overview of the Insurance Sector Investigations 06:24 The core findings in the insurance sector 08:37 Misleading Headlines and Transparency Issues 15:22 Consent, GDPR, and Dark Patterns 20:40 The Impact of AI on Accessibility and Regulation 25:35 Collecting Data and Privacy Concerns 31:22 Complaints Procedures and Vulnerable Customers 33:53 Website Accessibility and Quality Testing 38:13 The Future of Accessibility with AI 41:17 Summary of Findings and Industry Implications 47:20 Jargon Busters! 50:27 Next time: the EU AI Act

Four weeks into the trust reset and three episodes into the Consumer Duty teardown series, Amelia, Paul, Pat and Russ turn to what's arguably the biggest financial decision most people ever make: getting a mortgage. Using their scanning tool, UX Duty, the team reviewed the online journeys of a top-tier broker, a mid-tier broker and a smaller, consultant-branded challenger, scoring 125 findings across the three firms and, for the first time in the series, a "medium risk" rating for one of them. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and episode overview 06:57 An overview of the findings from the mortgage brokers 11:02 Fee disclosure issues 21:21 How much fee disclosure is reasonable? 23:31 Firm A drops a GDPR clanger 29:19 No FCA registration details displayed 32:02 Back to accessibility flaws across FS websites 36:54 Missing accessibility statements 39:11 A project building an accessibility plugin with a major tech firm 43:40 User testing and inclusive design for accessibility 47:21 Jargon busters: Understanding industry terms 48:06 Upcoming topics: protection insurance and final thoughts

Week three of Consumer Duty anniversary month, and we're going up a level; from everyday bank switching to investing. We ran three anonymised robo-advisors (a big player, a mid-tier firm, and a fintech challenger) through Indulge's in-house teardown tool, UX Duty, and turned up 150 findings across the three. In this episode we get into... Why risk warnings keep losing out to bold "grow your money" headlines, and what that means for consumer understanding The FCA's growing focus on "foreseeable harm" from platform features, not just price, and what that means for trading apps Missing exit costs and a genuinely hard-to-find "get your money out" journey Eligibility criteria buried deep in the sign-up flow, wasting users' time Vulnerability support (or the lack of it) for first-time investors Why 53% of all issues found were accessibility problems; including one firm whose entire brand colour fails contrast checks Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the episode and main themes 01:11 Findings from digital journeys of banking products 11:09 Accessibility issues and common themes 15:22 Key findings on accessibility and design flaws 20:01 Risk warnings and consumer understanding 26:23 Cost transparency (joining vs leaving) 31:07 Eligibility and vulnerability support 41:13 One firm drops an accessibility clanger

Consumer Duty is turning three, and the FCA's message is clear: the grace period is over. In this episode, Paul, Russ, and Pat break down the FCA's new Enforcement Watch 2 report, then dig into our first teardown: a hands-on review of the bank switching journey across three UK current account providers, run through our UX Duty tool. Loud offers, quiet conditions, missing debt advice signposting, and 205 findings later, here's what good, and bad, Consumer Duty compliance actually looks like in the wild. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Current Events 01:46 Discussing the FCA enforcement watch 2 update 06:12 Teardown of Bank Switching Process 09:06 The methodology for the research 11:18 Exploring the findings 16:19 Loud offers with quiet conditions 24:16 Looking out for financial distress 26:36 Switching in versus switching out 29:17 Dealing with vulnerability 32:30 The Language of Finance 37:31 Standardising financial product comparison 41:13 Wrapping up the findings 42:50 Jargon Busters: Hedging

Consumer duty turns three this month. Three years in, "we're working on it" stops being an excuse, and the FCA's tone has shifted from patient to pointed. So we're kicking off our Q3 edition, The Trust Reset, with a four-part teardown series where we run real financial services journeys through the wringer and ask a simple question; is this actually fair, or does it just tick a box? In this opener, the full team's back together to set the scene. We get into what's really changed since 2022, why "we don't sell to consumers" is a dangerous thing for a firm to believe, and how much of consumer duty comes down to accessibility and sludge. We also lift the lid on UXDuty, the tool we built in-house to scan digital channels against the PRIN 2A rules and surface the friction firms would rather you didn't notice. Next week we start the teardowns proper with bank switching, a big provider, a mid-tier one, and a challenger, side by side. What we cover: Why year three of consumer duty is the year the excuses run out Distribution chains, and why more firms are in scope than think they are Accessibility as good practice, not a compliance chore Whether AI fixes digital channels or quietly makes them worse UX Duty: how we scan journeys for sludge and evidence board reports Jargon buster: escrow, explained New episode every Friday. Fin the Week is the financial technology and marketing briefing from Indulge, a digital agency for financial services. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Personal Updates 00:55 What's coming up in Q3? 06:09 What was the industry reaction to Consumer Duty? 11:36 Consumer Duty in 2026 13:47 Understanding the distribution chain for Consumer Duty 22:16 Consumer Duty is about making something that's better for everyone 26:22 Explaining what UXDuty is 35:33 Introducing the Consumer Duty teardown process 39:20 Jargon Busters!

To wrap up our Pragmatic AI Edition, we stop theorising and go looking for the receipts: where is the financial services sector actually putting AI to work? Amelia, Paul and Pat play a quick game of Yay-I or Nay-I, scoring five real-world deployments to decide whether each one is genuinely useful or just a bit of clever PR. From Morgan Stanley arming its financial advisers with an internal chatbot, to Klarna's assistant doing the work of 700 agents in 35 languages, to Stripe's fraud-fighting Radar. We dig into what's impressive, what's overhyped, and where the human still matters most. Plus an NHS phone-bot anecdote that changes one sceptic's mind, a pitch for Lenny Henry to answer the Premier Inn phone, and this week's Jargon Buster: IPO. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:35 Morgan Stanley AI Chat Tool 08:53 Morgan Stanley AI Debrief Tool 12:23 Klarna's AI Assistant 24:03 Klarna's AI CEO 33:43 Stripe Radar 40:23 Jargon Busters: IPO Fin the Week is the Friday financial technology and marketing briefing from Indulge: a digital agency for the global financial services sector. #FinTheWeek #FinancialServices #AI #FinTech #MarketingPodcast #Indulge

This week on Fin the Week, Amelia, Paul and Mayna unpack five stories reshaping search and marketing in financial services: a German court ruling that makes Google liable for its own AI overviews, fresh SparkToro data showing fewer than one in three UK searches now ends in a click, Hiscox stepping into ChatGPT's advertising pilot, what 54 studies reveal about ranking in AI search, and the UK's incoming social media ban for under-16s. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:54 A German court has ruled that Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words 09:48 Zero click searches continue to rise 20:53 Hiscox testing advertising in ChatGPT 26:03 Research into AI citation ranking factors 34:27 Discussing the UK under-16 social media ban 46:57 Jargon busters

Mark's just back from UX London, and this week we dig into what financial services marketers can actually use from it. The headline: stop asking for more research time and start packaging what you already have. We get into validation, falling in love with the problem, not the solution, why failure is a feature of good UX, not a bug, and where AI is genuinely earning its place in the process. If you run marketing or operations in a finance firm, there's a year's worth of customer insight already sitting in your support inbox and your chatbot logs. We tell you how to find it. 00:00 Introduction to UX London and Event Overview 01:55 What is UK London? 02:41 UX is now a board-level concern in financial services 05:02 Effective Research and Stakeholder Validation 12:28 Using Validation to Drive UX Success 21:04 Using keyword research as a source of user validation 24:15 AI chatbots as a source of user research 26:34 Turning Failure into Opportunity in UX 35:04 A framework for organising content 37:09 How did UK London address AI? 41:22 Key Takeaway: The Power of Validation 44:21 Final Reflections and Future Trends