Empathy works better than pressure—and the numbers prove it.
Behavioral science—combining psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience—is becoming core strategy in banking, moving beyond experimental phase to systematic implementation. Financial sector's data infrastructure enables real-time measurement of behavioral interventions' economic impact, proving tangible ROI without relying solely on technology.
- Behavioral science experiments in finance have shown returns of 11 to 1
- Mexico's 2024 National Financial Inclusion Survey: primary reason for avoiding credit is unwillingness to borrow
- Gonzalo Camiña leads BeWay, which applies psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience to financial institutions
Financial institutions increasingly adopt behavioral science methodologies to understand and influence customer decisions, with documented returns of 11:1 in some experiments, reshaping how banks approach products and client relationships.
Walk into a Mexican bank's call center, and you'll hear something that would have sounded radical a decade ago: agents trained to listen first, pressure second. This shift reflects a broader transformation rippling through the financial sector—one rooted not in new technology, but in old-fashioned human psychology.
Behavioral science has moved from the margins of finance into its operational core. Gonzalo Camiña, who leads BeWay, a firm that works with banks, pension funds, and other financial institutions, describes the shift plainly: financial decisions are not rational calculations. They are behaviors—shaped by emotion, habit, bias, and context. When a customer clicks to open an account, signs up for a product, or finally pays down a debt, they are performing an action influenced by forces they may not fully recognize. Understanding those forces has become a competitive advantage.
The methodology Camiña and his team deploy starts with mapping. They identify every moment a financial institution touches a customer—a notification, a call, an email, a statement—and ask which of these moments carries the most weight in shaping decisions. They then dig into the barriers and motivations behind each behavior. Why does someone avoid credit? What makes them save? What friction prevents them from paying a bill on time? From this analysis, institutions design interventions: changes in how they communicate, how they structure products, how they interact with customers at the moment of decision.
The financial sector is uniquely suited to this work. Banks generate enormous volumes of data and possess the technological infrastructure to measure results almost instantly. This matters because it transforms behavioral science from theory into proof. Some of BeWay's experiments have shown returns of 11 to 1—meaning every dollar spent on a behavioral intervention yielded eleven dollars in return. That kind of evidence moves behavioral science from the consultant's pitch deck into the boardroom as legitimate strategy.
But the deeper opportunity lies in Mexico's relationship with debt itself. According to the 2024 National Financial Inclusion Survey, the single largest reason Mexicans avoid credit is simple: they do not want to borrow. This perception, rooted in legitimate historical experience and cultural values, has created a ceiling on financial sector growth. Behavioral science offers a path through it—not by tricking people into debt, but by understanding and reshaping the narratives and experiences that keep them away from the financial system.
Camiña points to debt collection as a case study. For years, the industry assumed that pressure and persistence worked best on customers who fell behind. Behavioral research revealed something different: empathy works better. A customer who feels understood is more likely to pay than one who feels hunted. This is not sentiment; it is measurable fact. The shift from coercion to understanding benefits both the institution and the customer, which is rare enough in finance to be worth noting.
The integration of behavioral science into banking is not yet complete. It requires change across marketing, product design, and customer service—a reorganization of how institutions think about their relationship with the people they serve. But the momentum is building. As data infrastructure improves and results accumulate, behavioral science is moving from experiment to standard practice. The question is no longer whether banks will use it, but how thoroughly they will embed it into their operations.
Notable Quotes
Financial decisions are behaviors influenced by emotion, habit, bias, and context—not purely rational calculations— Gonzalo Camiña, CEO of BeWay
An empathetic approach to debt collection generates better results for everyone than pressure-based tactics— Gonzalo Camiña
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the financial sector suddenly care about how people think? Isn't profit motive enough?
Profit motive is exactly why they care. They realized that understanding why someone says no to a loan is more valuable than ignoring it. If you can shift that no to a yes, the math works.
But isn't that manipulation? Using psychology to change behavior?
It depends on the direction. If you're using behavioral science to help someone overcome unfounded fear of debt and access credit they actually need, that's different from tricking them into something harmful. The research shows empathy in collections works better than pressure—that benefits both sides.
The survey says Mexicans don't want to borrow. Is that something to fix, or something to respect?
That's the tension. The sector sees it as a barrier to growth. But it's also rooted in real experience—people have been burned by debt. Behavioral science could help banks communicate differently, build trust, address legitimate concerns. Or it could be used to manufacture desire. The tool is neutral; the intent matters.
What does an 11-to-1 return actually mean in practice?
It means if a bank spends a million pesos on redesigning how they notify customers about payment deadlines, they might see eleven million in additional revenue from improved payment rates or new customers. That's why this is moving from experimental to systematic.
Is this happening everywhere, or just in Mexico?
Everywhere. But Mexico has a particular advantage—a large population still outside the formal financial system, driven partly by cultural skepticism about debt. That's a massive opportunity if behavioral science can rebuild trust.