Insights from the Money On Your Mind Report 2025

🌱 Brokers are feeling incredibly positive about the future of finance broking, with 95% saying that they believe the sector is growing.

😎 80% of consumers are feeling confident about their finances going into 2025, despite a challenging 2024.

😟 47% of consumers were under financial stress in 2024 and both brokers and consumers agree that this was mainly down to the rising cost of living. 

🧠 Aussies are seeking out brokers’ knowledge and expertise to help guide them through a challenging macroeconomic environment.

🔍 Consumers are looking for more than just the cheapest rate. Having trust in a company was cited as the most important factor when choosing a financial institution.

How aligned are brokers with their clients?

Overall, the Money On Your Mind Report shows that Wisr brokers are strongly aligned with how their clients are feeling about their finances. Unsurprisingly, both brokers and consumers named the cost of living as the key cause of financial stress in 2024. 

Brokers’ perception of their clients’ financial literacy was fairly consistent with consumers’ own perceptions, although overall clients rated their understanding marginally better (40% of brokers rated their clients’ financial literacy as good or excellent, compared to 47% of consumers rating their own financial literacy levels). 

That said, brokers took a slightly more cautious view on financial confidence. Aussies were feeling decidedly positive going into 2025, with 4 in 5 saying they felt confident about their finances. Comparatively, only 3 in 5 brokers said that they thought their clients’ were feeling financially confident. 

The future of finance broking

Brokers were almost unanimous in their thoughts on the future of finance broking. 95% believe it is a growing sector and 80% are seeing more repeat customers than ever before. In fact, nearly half of all loan customers used a broker. The most common reason cited for doing so was to utilise their brokers’ knowledge and experience. 

Brokers were also very tuned into their clients looking for more than just the cheapest rate. In fact, having trust in a financial institution was the most important factor for clients when selecting a provider. 

Financial confidence in 2025

Money is clearly on clients’ minds more often than not. While brokers are very much aligned with their clients in citing the cost of living as the key cause of financial stress across 2024, the outlook from consumers is overwhelmingly positive. 80% say they feel confident about their current financial situation, which is brilliant to see. 

There is also a strong desire from Aussies to learn and engage with their finances. 47% rated their financial literacy as good or excellent, and 7 in 10 took steps to improve their financial literacy last year. 

Money trends on the horizon 

Looking to the future, the trend towards a cashless society is taking shape. Almost 3 in 5 Aussies can see a time where they don’t use physical cash in day-to-day life. That said, it hasn’t taken hold just yet. A quarter of Aussies still use cash more than once a week and it is still very much a part of our lives. 

So, what about AI? Well, despite it being one of the defining technologies of the current era, as it stands consumers don’t believe it has had a big impact on financial services in Australia. 59% of Aussies don’t think AI will profoundly impact how they engage with their money, and 4 in 5 wouldn’t trust an AI chatbot to provide accurate information or advice. 

Ultimately, a lack of trust from consumers was a key blocker for tech and data sharing. Better education is needed on the safety and security of new technologies, as well as the value exchange on offer to get buy-in from consumers.

“It’s brilliant to see the overwhelming positivity from brokers on the future of finance broking. As we move into 2025, it’s really exciting to see that the vast majority of brokers believe that finance broking is a growing industry. Brokers are seeing more repeat customers than ever before and half of Australians are using brokers to help them choose loan products. 

“It’s clear that the experience and expertise of brokers is really highly valued among consumers - and we love that. Wisr is proud to have such strong working relationships with so many fantastic brokers across Australia. Considering the economic uncertainty over the past few years, it’s not surprising that more and more consumers are turning to brokers to help them navigate their financial decisions and find the right financial product for them. 

“The insights from the Money On Your Mind Report show that clients are now demanding more than just a great rate. To stay relevant, lenders will need to take a common-sense approach to lending and create more personalised financial products that are better suited to consumers’ needs.” 

Nicole Evans, Head of Broker