Why workplace financial wellbeing needs more than fintech

By Darren Laverty, Financial Wellbeing Strategist at Secondsight and author of Make Their Money Count

Employers now have access to a wide range of financial wellbeing technology.  From an employee benefits perspective, fintech has become essential in the workplace. Benefits platforms, pension apps, savings tools, financial education portals and robo-advice solutions have become commonplace.

These resources aim to improve employees’ financial decision-making, making it more accessible and engaging. However, despite the availability of many tools, employers often report low employee engagement and can find it challenging to demonstrate sustained behavioural change.

For HR and reward professionals, this raises an important question. If the technology keeps improving, why aren’t employee financial outcomes improving at the same pace?

Why access doesn’t always lead to action

Workplace fintech is designed to improve access to information, simplify decision-making and support healthier financial habits. When used effectively, these tools can reduce barriers and empower employees to manage their finances proactively. However, many solutions assume that employees are already motivated, understand the importance of financial planning, and feel confident in taking that first step.

Research from the Department for Work and Pensions shows that providing information alone rarely alters behaviour, especially when decisions are complex, unfamiliar, or emotionally significant.

For many employees, pensions and long-term financial planning can seem distant, complicated, and overwhelming. Without personal relevance or clear context, even the most user-friendly digital platform can turn into just another app or online portal, easily ignored as just another notification.

The robo-advice reality

Robo-advice was once widely viewed as the future of workplace financial guidance. It promised lower costs, greater consistency and the ability to deliver personalised recommendations at scale. Although the technology has advanced significantly, achieving widespread engagement has proven to be more challenging than many had expected.

Why? Because financial decisions are rarely made through purely rational thinking.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s behavioural research shows that trust, confidence and emotion all play a significant role in how people make financial choices. When employees feel uncertain or overwhelmed, even the most intuitive digital journey is unlikely to be completed.

Many fintech solutions also ask employees to make product decisions before helping them understand their own financial circumstances. If people don’t understand their starting point, or why they should act now, technology alone is unlikely to change their behaviour.

Technology supports change, people drive it

Most effective financial wellbeing programmes have one thing in common: they recognise that technology supports behaviour change, but it doesn’t create it.

For employees to take meaningful action, they first need to understand their financial position, where they want to be and what practical steps will help them get there. More importantly, they need to believe those steps are worth taking and to connect emotionally with the information they receive.

This doesn’t mean every employee requires one-to-one financial advice. However, it does highlight the continued importance of human interaction. Workshops, guided education sessions and facilitated conversations provide something technology cannot: context, reassurance and motivation.

Once employees understand their own financial picture, digital tools become far more valuable because they’re helping someone who is already engaged, rather than trying to create engagement from scratch.

Evidence from the Money and Pensions Service supports this approach, showing that timely human support can significantly increase the likelihood of people taking positive action on pensions and long-term savings.

Understanding must come before technology

Successful financial wellbeing strategies recognise that behaviour change is a journey, not a single action. Before employees feel they are ready to make decisions, they need to build awareness, develop understanding and feel motivated to act.

When employers focus first on helping employees understand their financial circumstances and the value of taking action, digital tools become much more effective. Rather than presenting another platform to navigate, they provide practical support at the moment employees are ready to use it.

Solutions that focus on clarity, planning and confidence tend to resonate far more effectively than those that ask employees to make immediate product choices. People don’t need more options; they need greater understanding, clearer direction and the confidence to take the next step.

How employers can drive real change

For employers reviewing their approach to financial wellbeing, the answer is not to replace fintech, but to use it more strategically and effectively.

A successful approach should:

• Recognise that financial decisions are driven by psychology as much as technology.
• Use human interaction to build motivation, confidence and momentum.
• Help employees understand the personal value and relevance of available support before directing them to digital tools.
• Measure success through behavioural outcomes and financial wellbeing improvements, rather than platform usage alone.

The financial services and technology sectors continue to develop increasingly sophisticated solutions. However, many financial wellbeing initiatives fall short because they overlook a critical factor: human behaviour.

The strongest financial wellbeing strategies combine the best of both worlds. Human engagement provides the context, motivation and confidence employees need to act, while technology makes it easier to access support, implement decisions and maintain positive financial habits over time.

Secondsight is a trading name of Foster Denovo Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.