Fin the Week

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The Friday financial marketing & technology briefing.

  1. 1d ago

    Finding the bias inside AI with Azahara Corrales

    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

  2. Aug 21

    Does the financial services sector have an accessibility issue?

    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

  3. Aug 14

    Why are we seeing FS marketing teams who fear AI?

    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

  4. Aug 7

    Trust vs Credibility: Why Financial Brands Can't Just Talk a Good 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

  5. Jul 31

    Life Insurance: Consumer Duty Teardown #4

    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

  6. Jul 24

    Mortgage Brokers: Consumer Duty Teardown #3

    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

  7. Jul 17

    Consumer Investing: Consumer Duty Teardown #2

    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 understandingThe FCA's growing focus on "foreseeable harm" from platform features, not just price, and what that means for trading appsMissing exit costs and a genuinely hard-to-find "get your money out" journeyEligibility criteria buried deep in the sign-up flow, wasting users' timeVulnerability support (or the lack of it) for first-time investorsWhy 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

  8. Jul 10

    Bank Switching: Consumer Duty Teardown #1

    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

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The Friday financial marketing & technology briefing.

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  • Creator
    Indulge
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © 2026 Indulge