Private banks collaborate with social media influencers, but with caution

HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, launched its flagship products, including the Millennia Credit Card, Pixel Credit Card and PayZapp app, using creators to run social media campaigns to attract young, “digital natives."

The bank also has its own set of influencers, Vigil Aunty and FJ Moneysha, to raise awareness about financial fraud, positioning the brand as responsible. “Our efforts in influencer marketing extend beyond product promotion, working with influencers for financial education and particularly for fraud awareness," the bank’s chief marketing officer Ravi Santhanam told Mint in an emailed statement.

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The booming creator economy, poised to grow by 25% this year to ₹2,344 crore, is being leveraged by Indian private banks. An EY marketer’s survey shows that 33% of marketers from the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector would increase their influencer marketing budget by 10%.

However, while working with influencers, banks take all necessary measures to avoid any trouble, keeping the regulator’s watchful eye in mind. They carefully pick creators with whom they would like to work and fully participate in the content creation process, ensuring the creator is aware of the gravity of the situation and does not violate regulatory lines.

Last month, Sebi banned regulated entities from associating with financial influencers not registered with the market regulator. Financial influencers—or finfluencers—are individuals who influence investment decisions by creating content on social media platforms like YouTube, X or Instagram. The decision was meant to ensure investors were not misled into believing the high returns that many finfluencers boasted about.

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“As a regulated entity, we are guided by industry regulations, self-regulatory guidelines and internal policies to ensure transparency, authenticity and integrity in our influencer marketing partnerships... We evaluate association with these influencers using metrics such as reach, engagement and potential views, in addition to a thorough background check," Rohit Bhasin, chief marketing officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, told Mint.

An emailed query sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on whether the central bank is developing any regulatory framework for the banking sector collaborating with creators remained unanswered till press time.

The banks have also been very particular about only working with creators to promote their consumer-facing products and avoid any influencer-related content on the investment front.

“We partner with influencers to reach out to our target audience with a range of banking products, from credit and debit cards, asset products and business banking solutions to savings accounts. This naturally excludes the ‘investment’ products where we do not work with influencers," Bhasin added.

Varsha Shukla, a comedy content creator with 280,000 followers on Instagram and 516,000 subscribers on her and her husband’s YouTube channel, shared her experience collaborating with Federal Bank. “To my surprise, they had already planned the content and a rough outline of a light, couple-comedy script keeping our genre in mind. We were also properly briefed about the legality and regulatory compliances of this project, easing our initial hesitation of working with a bank for the first time and making the overall process very smooth."

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Federal Bank is very particular about targeting the right audience and picking influencers with relatable content. For instance, travel credit cards are marketed by content creators only. This upholds the bank’s authenticity and reputation. “We always look for PPA, that is, product, persona and audience fit…Our influencers are briefed to speak on what is approved on a product, and refrain from speculative pitches," M.V.S. Murthy, chief marketing officer of Federal Bank, said1.

“In most of the non-regulated industries, it’s mostly caveat emptor, meaning that the buyer has to beware. In financial services, consumer protection becomes the primary role of the regulator…The regulator is looking towards a comprehensive response to misleading campaigns while there is also a Digital India Bill coming in," said Shashwat Sharma, partner, financial services, at consulting firm Kearney.