Bank of America Offers Financial Education Videos for Customers

Americans are not empowered enough to make knowledgeable financial decisions, according to the “Bridging the Knowledge Gap” survey by Bank of America, completed in September. About 32% of those surveyed said their lack of knowledge has led them to make poor financial decisions.

“We conducted the survey as an ongoing effort to increase financial literacy,” says Barry Simmons, western region SVP at BofA. “It’s our corporate responsibility to help increase financial acumen, not just for our customers, but for all consumers in the community where we work or live.”

In April, BofA launched a site that streams videos on personal finance topics, in partnership with the Khan Academy, called BetterMoneyHabits. BofA selected the Khan Academy to help produce videos that break down complex financial topics for customers, according to Simmons.

[See Related: Survey: Majority Of Customers Feel Undervalued By Banks]

After viewing the videos, users can access further financial education materials from the Better Money Habits website, Simmons noted.

The site also encourages consumers to provide feedback and allows them to vote on which topics would interest them the most.

“We got some feedback on, ‘How do I manage credit?’ or ‘How does credit really work?’ and we just introduced a new series of videos that really just explained how to build credit, how to repay credit, based off customer feedback,” Simmons adds.

Zarna Patel is a staff writer for InformationWeek's Financial Services brands, which include Bank Systems & Technology, Insurance & Technology and Wall Street & Technology. She received her B.A. in English and journalism from Rutgers University College of Arts and Sciences in ... View Full Bio