In honor of National Credit Education Month, the ABA Foundation is hosting an article series to spotlight strategies, tools and best practices to help consumers navigate credit challenges with confidence. Each week, a partner organization will share insights grounded in their expertise on how banks can strengthen credit resilience from rebuilding credit to managing debt. Here are the first, second and third installments.
By Sarah Willis Ertur
EVP, SaverLife
For years, California SaverLife member David believed financial stability was out of reach. Living on a limited income while navigating health challenges, he often relied on credit cards to cover essential expenses. Like many consumers, his situation was not due to poor decisions but to difficult trade-offs and limited access to clear guidance on rebuilding credit.
“I used to think that breaking even was winning,” David said. “Savings felt impossible. I didn’t know where to begin.”
Today, David has eliminated significant credit card debt and is now setting his sights on homeownership, something he thought would never be possible. A key shift came when he began to understand how credit works beyond just balances.
“Once I learned how much it costs to owe money, I stopped thinking just about balances and started thinking about interest. It was a game-changer.”
Stories like David’s are familiar to banks nationwide: consumers doing the right things but still lacking clear, actionable guidance to build credit and manage debt. Traditional approaches to credit education aren’t failing because lack of access; they’re falling short because they aren’t designed for how people actually make financial decisions.
SaverLife is a nonprofit fintech helping lower-income consumers build financial cushions and unlock new opportunities. Across more than 770,000 members nationwide, we see consistent patterns in how people actually engage with financial guidance, and where traditional approaches fall short.
Consumer-informed AI
As financial technology evolves, there is an opportunity to move beyond static financial education towards tools that help consumers translate knowledge into action. Increasingly, SaverLife members are seeking guidance that reflects their specific circumstances and helps them navigate real-world decisions around debt, budgeting and credit.
In our work with lower-income consumers, we’ve seen how AI-driven tools can change engagement patterns and can meet that need. SaverLife’s Financial Health Navigator, for example, provides personalized financial guidance through a conversational, judgment-free interface, using member data and goals to surface relevant insights and next steps.
Early engagement data is promising: nearly half of members who are offered the Navigator initiate a session, and more than a third return. We’ve also seen a clear shift in how consumers seek help. While about one-third of members who complete a debt diagnostic are advised to pursue credit counseling, many prefer to start with practical steps on their own. Roughly half say they want actionable advice because they feel they “aren’t there yet” for a conversation with a counselor.
Tools that meet people in the moment can guide them towards the right next step (for them), whether that’s debt management strategies, credit-building products, or referrals to trusted partners.
Delivery matters
When referrals to credit counselors were offered through the Navigator, rather than through traditional outreach like email, follow-through increased by 600%. Embedding guidance within a conversational, in-the-moment experience makes it easier for people to take action compared to passive, one-size-fits-all outreach.
For many consumers, discussing debt can feel intimidating or embarrassing. Digital tools create a private, stigma-free environment where people can explore questions, understand their options and build confidence before taking more significant steps.
AI and emerging technologies are now making it possible to scale this kind of tailored financial guidance in ways traditional financial education never could. Instead of generic advice, consumers increasingly expect tools that respond to their individual goals and challenges.
For banks and financial institutions, this shift presents an important opportunity. By embedding personalized, AI-driven guidance directly into the customer experience — whether through partnerships or in-house tools — banks can help customers take the everyday actions that strengthen credit over time while improving retention, reducing risk, and increasing long-term lifetime value.
Looking ahead, the future of credit guidance will be digital, individualized and embedded within the financial tools consumers already use. The most effective innovations will remain grounded in a simple principle: helping people translate financial knowledge into real-world behaviors.
When technology helps consumers take those steps — managing debt, making payments on time and building healthier financial habits — it does more than improve credit scores.
It expands access to opportunity and strengthens financial resilience.
SaverLife is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit creating prosperity for working families by helping people save and invest in their futures. For more information or to join the SaverLife movement, please visit saverlife.org.
