Dealing with finances can be intimidating, but Americans are taking their finances into their own hands, with an upswing in people accessing their credit score reports. This leaves opportunity for finance brands to help enable access to this information and in turn, boost customer loyalty.

Over three-quarters of Americans now own a credit card, and considering the range of perks and rewards they come with, paying by plastic feels like a no-brainer. And research has found that now, people are using them to pay for purchases that come to as little as $5.

Young people's trust in financial services is at an all-time low; 71% of Gen Yers would rather visit their dentist than hear what banks have to say. But San Francisco-based Affirm is hoping that a transparent approach to lending can restore some faith in customers and show that credit isn’t all bad.

Gen Yers came of age during one of the worst global financial crises, got saddled with a record amount of student debt, and are worse off than their parents were at the same age. So how are they managing the money they owe? And how have attitudes towards borrowing changed for this cohort?