To make the credit system more approachable, Extra (the first debit card that builds credit and earns reward points, just like a credit card) launched its inaugural mini-series, Credit Talk. Hosted by Tefi Pessoa (a.k.a. @HelloTefi), your online spirit animal and credit-less equal, the mini-series consists of 20 episodes so far where Tefi relates and educates about all things credit, in a way that won’t put you to sleep. Credit Talk has allowed Extra to engage with a new audience who primarily derive content from social media, driving brand awareness and helping more people improve their financial practices.
Extra is committed to reinventing the credit journey by designing safer, smarter, and more enjoyable products that are easy to use and understand, and incentivize good credit habits. It all started with the Extra Card, and now, Extra is furthering its mission to make conversations around credit more accessible and digestible through Credit Talk. With nearly 40% of cardholders using social media for their financial information (according to Extra’s recent annual cardholder survey in partnership with Brandata), Extra is leveraging these platforms to build credit awareness and spread helpful and accurate information to those who need it most. The study also revealed that 60% of cardholders say that Extra has helped with their understanding of credit and credit systems, demonstrating Extra’s impact around credit education. In line with the brand’s mission, Credit Talk was created with the goal of providing everyone with educational content that’s actually easy to understand.
Credit Talk was inspired by Extra’s mission to remove the stigma around talking about credit and finances, while working to create more accessible, and easy to understand content.
The decision to partner with Tefi Pessoa on the Credit Talk series was an easy one for Extra. The brand’s co-founders have been fans of Tefi and her content for years, so when it came to deciding who should host the series, there was no doubt in their mind that Tefi was the perfect fit. Her honest hot takes and relatable content that her fans love and engage with resembled exactly what Extra wanted to create with Credit Talk. Tefi’s personal struggles with credit and personal finances as a young adult also made her a great fit for this series, as she serves as an excellent example of how you can bounce back and take hold of your own credit journey.
Episodes consist of four different segments—Credit Tips, Tefi on the Street, Credit Tales, and Term of the Day—all of which focus on essential credit topics and concepts in a fun and intriguing manner. They are short, so that viewers don’t feel intimidated to watch, but are full of helpful tips and stories from real people who have struggled with their own credit. The episodes are available across Extra’s + Tefi’s social channels (TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube) for free, so they’re accessible to everyone, not just Extra Card holders.
What makes Credit Talk unique is that it instills financial knowledge in a way that hasn’t been done before. To make the conversation around credit engaging and easily digestible, it had to be irreverent, eye-catching, and in small doses, all while being informative. Partnering with influencers like Tefi Pessoa and creating relatable, easy-to-understand content that resonates with young consumers and builds credit awareness allowed Extra to reach that goal in an unprecedented way.
Since launching in October of 2022, the series has amassed over 1 million views across Instagram and TikTok, and those numbers are only continuing to grow.
A majority of consumers don’t receive a thorough education around credit and personal finance through schooling, and generations—both new and old—continue to view the topic as taboo to talk about or too daunting to address with their own children, friends or loved ones. There are many confusing terms and phrases, so it can be difficult for people to know where to start. The Credit Talk series has made education around credit accessible, digestible, and even fun, and has reached a new audience for Extra in an authentic way. Through Credit Talk, Extra is continuing to change the way people view conversations around credit and personal finance; encouraging them to arm themselves with the knowledge of credit— and how to WIN with it—in a unique and entertaining way.
As Extra, and the Credit Talk series, continues to grow, so will the conversations around credit, thus creating a massive shift that will inspire all consumers to improve their knowledge of a topic that is an essential part of all of our lives and embark on their own credit journey so that, ultimately, they can win with credit!
