TomoCredit Survey Finds Nearly 90% of Consumers Associate "Credit Score" With Something Negative
TomoCredit Founder and CEO Kristy Kim explores why financial avoidance is often an emotional response—not a character flaw—in a new Fast Company opinion piece
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TomoCredit, an AI-powered financial wellness platform helping underserved consumers access credit, released new insights in a new Fast Company article into the emotional barriers preventing Americans from actively engaging with their finances.
In a recent TomoCredit survey of more than 800 consumers, nearly 90% of respondents reported having a negative association with the term "credit score." The findings suggest that for many consumers, financial disengagement is not caused by a lack of ambition or information. Instead, it may stem from the stress, fear, and shame they associate with money and credit.
TomoCredit Founder and CEO Kristy Kim explores this growing pattern in a new Fast Company Executive Board article, "Why Do So Many Americans Avoid Their Finances?"
"People are surrounded by more financial information than ever, but information alone does not automatically make them feel more confident," said Kim. "Before we can help people make better financial decisions, we have to understand why so many feel unsafe, ashamed, or overwhelmed when dealing with money in the first place."
TomoCredit identified three common ways financial avoidance can appear in consumers' everyday lives:
- Information avoidance: Ignoring credit scores, banking apps, account notifications, or financial statements out of fear of what they might reveal.
- Decision avoidance: Delaying actions such as opening a retirement account, building emergency savings or addressing debt because the number of available choices feels overwhelming.
- Conversation avoidance: Remaining silent about financial questions or challenges because of embarrassment, uncertainty or fear of judgment.
Financial avoidance can affect consumers across income levels, age groups, and financial circumstances. Constant exposure to stories about early retirement, investment wins, side hustles, and six-figure savings accounts may also lead some consumers to believe everyone else has already mastered money.
Kim's perspective is informed by both her work with TomoCredit customers and her own experience immigrating to the United States and learning to navigate an unfamiliar credit system.
"Financial decisions are emotional long before they are mathematical," Kim added. "If we want consumers to participate more actively in their financial lives, we need to create tools and environments where questions are encouraged, and people can take the next step without feeling judged."
The findings underscore the need for a more personalized and compassionate approach to financial technology. Rather than simply giving consumers more data to interpret, financial platforms can help people understand their options, take manageable actions, and steadily build confidence.
TomoCredit is applying this philosophy through TomoIQ, its personalized AI financial assistant designed to meet consumers where they are and help them work toward better financial outcomes. By making financial guidance more approachable and relevant to each user's circumstances, TomoCredit aims to reduce the fear and confusion that can cause people to disengage.
Kim's full Fast Company article is available here.
About TomoCredit
TomoCredit is an AI-powered financial wellness platform working to make the financial system more inclusive. Through technology designed around consumers' real financial circumstances and goals, TomoCredit helps underserved communities access credit and pursue stronger financial outcomes.
For more information, visit www.tomocredit.com.
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