How Capital One and Bank of America are tackling gaps in financial literacy for consumers and women entrepreneurs

April marks Financial Literacy Month. While financial education was once overlooked, there is now an increased dialogue surrounding this topic, particularly concerning Gen Z, who seek to establish a strong financial foundation early in life.

75% of teenagers feel uncertain about their grasp of personal finance, and 73% expressed a strong interest in receiving more financial education in a survey from 2021. Parents and educational systems, though, struggle to provide adequate financial education, with only 23 states mandating personal finance courses, leaving students ill-prepared for financial independence. This scarcity of reliable financial education sources is recognized by 93% of teens as critical to achieving their life goals.

This creates an opportunity for financial institutions to reconnect with consumers through new partnerships and modern methods that resonate with a broad audience.

Many firms are exploring unconventional methods to capture consumers’ interest in financial education as a starting point. This can be beneficial not only for consumers in different age groups but also for early-stage entrepreneurs to make headway in their endeavors.

Capital One is zeroing in on financial education for consumers of all ages, while Bank of America has recently entered into a new partnership with the luxury lifestyle brand, Tory Burch, to promote financial literacy among women entrepreneurs.

Capital One’s push for financial education: Recent research conducted by Capital One highlights an age-related trend in digital financial literacy, revealing that older consumers tend to rank high in both digital and financial literacy, particularly in online banking. On the other hand, younger consumers demonstrate strong digital literacy skills but struggle more with financial literacy. Overall, 40% of consumers across different age brackets lack basic financial knowledge, like how to manage debt or build credit. 

The report defines digital financial literacy as a combination of basic financial knowledge and the capacity to protect oneself online from phishing attacks and other financial scams. 

These findings underscore the importance of investing in financial education for all age groups, leveraging online platforms to meet consumers where they are, and allowing them to learn at their own pace, according to Adam Davis, VP of Financial Health and Liquidity at Capital One.

“It [financial literacy] also equips customers with the ability to identify when they might need help and how to seek that support,” Davis told Tearsheet.

Capital One offers CreditWise, a free tool that lets a user monitor her credit and keep up with changes to her credit scores and reports, besides the bank’s other financial education content on its website. The bank also launched a partnership with Khan Academy in 2023 that provides a free online learning program that breaks down complex financial concepts into a series of short, self-paced lessons, including courses on how to compile taxes or budget and save money. 

“Many people find personal finance to be difficult to navigate, especially as it’s not often taught in schools,” said Davis. “Through this partnership with Khan Academy, we created a program that brings financial knowledge to learners of all ages.”

And through its Ready, Set, Bank tool, which is a series of 44 micro-learning videos, the bank also aims to help older adults bridge the digital literacy gap and navigate digital banking.

Besides its digital channels, Capital One also offers in-person mentoring sessions through its brick-and-mortar branches and growing physical footprint of Cafés for those who prefer to visit a physical location. This spring the bank partnered with the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) to host a series of workshops at participating Capital One Cafés across the country to offer completion support for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation partnership

Data shows that 75% of women business owners wish they were more knowledgeable about their businesses’ finances, including how to better manage their cash flow, accounting practices, and securing grants.

“It takes more than a great idea and determination to build a business; it takes resources,” says Tory Burch, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the luxury lifestyle brand, Tory Burch.

This is particularly important for minority and women business owners who seek resources in two main categories: networking and financial education, such as training, mentorship, and financial support, including funding, capital, and market access.

“In my role, I have had the privilege of interacting with women entrepreneurs on a daily basis – listening to their challenges to find ways that we can help fill existing gaps with new resources, insights, mentors, platforms, and more,” said Pam Seagle, Global Women’s Programs Executive at Bank of America. “At the end of the day, so many of the challenges come down to access, whether that’s access to resources, mentors, capital or new markets.”

“Also, risk aversion can be a common mindset among women entrepreneurs. Of course, that’s often a good thing, but not always. Being too cautious or timid can sometimes harm your prospects of success. Building knowledge is a great way to build confidence, which may embolden some women entrepreneurs to aim even higher,” she said.

To bridge these gaps, Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation have collaborated to launch the Tory Burch Foundation Business Webinars targeting women entrepreneurs across various industries, expanding on their long-standing partnership. 

The program: The new virtual program offers education on various entrepreneurial topics and is a free resource available to women entrepreneurs on the Tory Burch Foundation website and YouTube. The webinars cover five domains, including Scaling with Federal Funding, Making Entrepreneurship Your Own, Creating Your Operations Blueprint, Countdown to Launch: Go-to-Market Strategy, Leading Through Challenging Times, and Kickstart Your Tax Prep. 

Hosted by Tory Burch Foundation staff and industry experts, these year-round webinars are available both live and on-demand, running from April 24 to June 19 on Wednesdays. According to Tiffany Dufu, President of the Tory Burch Foundation, the sessions are interactive, allowing founders to ask questions in a closed environment and gain insights from experienced professionals sharing their own experiences. Additionally, entrepreneurs and their teams can access the Tory Burch Foundation’s content library covering topics like cash-flow planning and timely subjects such as artificial intelligence.

“Business owners often invest in training, coaches, or education platforms to help them grow. But early on in a business’ life-cycle that is not always an option, especially for women who frequently start with less access to funding,” said Dufu. “I know, as a founder myself, that the right guidance can improve the trajectory of a company.”

The catalyst: Bank of America and the Tory Burch Foundation first collaborated in 2014 to establish The Tory Burch and Bank of America Capital Program, assisting women business owners to access affordable loans to expand their businesses. To date, this program has delivered over $100 million in low-cost capital to women entrepreneurs.

“As we approached our 10-year anniversary of working with the Tory Burch Foundation, we came together to think about ways to evolve the partnership and support women entrepreneurs in new ways, and that’s how we came up with the idea for this resource [Business Webinars], “ Seagle told Tearsheet.

According to Dufu, partnering with Bank of America will enable the Tory Burch Foundation to expand the reach of its educational resources to a wider audience of founders participating in live webinars and viewing recorded sessions.

Despite operating as a luxury lifestyle brand, providing support to fellow women entrepreneurs has been integral to the business and founder Tory Burch’s vision, as noted by Dufu. Through her firsthand experiences in business growth and interactions with other women entrepreneurs, Burch recognized the challenges women-owned businesses face in financial awareness and access to funding, leading to the establishment of the Tory Burch Foundation in 2009.

In addition to their work with the Tory Burch Foundation, Bank of America has forged other partnerships to tackle the challenge of financial awareness among women business owners. For instance, the bank partnered with Seneca Women to create the Access to Capital Directory, a platform to educate women entrepreneurs on funding opportunities, including equity, debt, and grant capital, as well as the Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women to spotlight women-owned businesses. 

The firm also co-created the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell, claiming it as the only online Ivy League program offering a certificate in women’s entrepreneurship free of cost.