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Fintel Connect

Industry Report

2026 Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) Guide to Affiliate Customer Growth in Financial Services

Industry Benchmarks, Strategy, and Market Intelligence (U.S. and Canada)

Tablet mockup for Fintel Connect's 2026 CPA Guide to Affiliate Customer Growth in Financial Services — industry benchmarks and market intelligence for U.S. and Canada.
Tablet mockup for Fintel Connect's 2026 CPA Guide to Affiliate Customer Growth in Financial Services — industry benchmarks and market intelligence for U.S. and Canada.

“Today, if affiliate partnerships aren’t part of your acquisition strategy, you’re leaving growth on the table.”

—  Danielle Lauzon, SVP of Commercial Strategy

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Industry Report

Why CPA strategy is changing

Who should read this?

  • Marketing executives and leaders
  • Acquisition and growth teams
  • Affiliate program managers
See the report

Financial brands often ask us, “What are other brands paying for their CPA?” But the most important question is, "What business outcome are we optimizing for?"

AI-powered discovery, evolving affiliate strategies, and rising placement competition are reshaping how brands acquire customers.

Drawing on proprietary benchmarks from thousands of financial affiliate campaigns, this guide breaks down what's driving those shifts and how leading brands are responding.

What will you learn?

  • Benchmark your acquisition costs against U.S. and Canadian data for banking, investing, lending, business, and insurance products
  • Understand how AI-driven discovery (GEO/AEO) is reshaping affiliate visibility and CPA
  • Establish the critical foundation for a high-performing affiliate program
  • Apply the three principles top brands use to sustain CPA performance over time
  • Learn about the five most common CPA mistakes limiting brand growth

Proven results from successful partners

“Our team has been blown away at the level of customer service and overall results we’ve achieved with Fintel Connect. They provide unparallelled insights on how to optimize our affiliate channel and as a result, we were able to drive consistent awareness and growth of our products.”

Anika Leitl

Anika Leitl
Affiliate Marketing Associate, Neo Financial

“Fintel Connect has been a valuable partner in helping Qtrade strengthen its affiliate strategy. Their understanding of financial services, publisher alignment, and performance optimization has helped us scale the channel in a more focused and measurable way.”

Mike Quirke

Mike Quirke
National VP, Strategic Partnerships and Growth, Qtrade

“The team’s expertise in identifying relevant, high-performing affiliates and providing the tools for transparent ROI forecasting and campaign optimization has been instrumental in unlocking triple-digit new account growth while reducing acquisition costs.” 

Ashley Gagnon

Ashley Gagnon
Director, Growth Marketing, Coast Capital

Financial brands scaling growth through affiliates

  • FVC Bank
  • Wester Alliance Bank
  • CIBC
  • Grasshopper Bank
  • Believe Savings Bank

The only affiliate platform and agency exclusively for financial services

Trusted as the Go-To Platform in Our Category

  • US Partnerships AWard Silver Winner 2026 - Best Partnership Problem Solved
  • Global Recognition Awards 2026 - Exceptional Achievement
  • Users Love Us - G2 2026 Badge
  • Momentum Leader - G2 2025

2026 Industry Report

U.S. Executive Insights: Financial Marketing ROI & Channel Effectiveness

Secure early access to Fintel Connect in conjunction with Cornerstone Advisors' inaugural national report with peer insights on marketing channel effectiveness in financial services.

Uncover exclusive insights on how executive teams at credit unions, national and enterprise banks allocate marketing budgets, evaluate marketing channel performance, and define what drives ROI in financial services in 2026.

Industry-backed insight into the marketing channels driving ROI

Exclusive Report

See where marketing spend generates returns in financial services

Get First Access

Who Is This Report For?

  • C-suite executives at credit unions, and community, regional, and national banks
  • Senior marketing leaders driving strategy, budget allocation, and growth initiatives
  • Teams managing channel performance and evaluating how partner/affiliate marketing can scale within their marketing mix

Report Collaboration

  • Cornerstone Advisors: For over 20 years, Cornerstone has advised banks and credit unions nationwide, helping them improve profitability, efficiency, and marketing performance. Cornerstone leads the research, survey design, and production of the final report.
  • Fintel Connect: A leading provider of affiliate marketing services, Fintel Connect brings industry expertise, client case studies, and data insights to complement the research. Together, Cornerstone and Fintel Connect ensure the report reflects real-world experience and rigorous analysis.

Why You Need Early Access

  • See which channels consistently drive acquisition, cross-sell, and brand growth.
  • Benchmark your strategy against peers across credit unions, community, regional, super-regional, and national banks — making your annual plan board-ready and defensible.
  • Discover which tactics truly deliver efficiency and measurable results.
  • Gain actionable insights to prioritize spend, optimize ROI, and confidently justify decisions to your board.

Check Out Our Latest Releases While You Wait

LLM-Report-Tablet-Mockup-1

Report

Competing for Visibility in the Age of AI

This report reveals how to position your brand to be discovered, cited, and trusted with actionable strategies to ensure your financial institution shows up where it matters the most: when customers are ready to engage and convert.

This guide provides exclusive insights into AI-driven visibility trends, helping you:

  • Benchmark your brand’s visibility across AI-powered platforms to see how you compare to peers
  • Understand the role of affiliates and publishers in driving trust, citations, and discovery in LLM-generated results
  • Identify strategic levers to stay visible as consumer discovery shifts from traditional search to conversational AI
  • Implement actionable tactics to position your financial institution where customers are ready to engage and convert
Get the Report
2025-FIAM-Tablet-Mockup

REPORT

2025 Financial Affiliate Marketing Report

We surveyed 100+ top affiliates and publishers in financial services to uncover industry predictions, priorities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the year ahead.

This includes:

  • Business and consumer priorities in the US vs Canada
  • Top growth areas for different products
  • Most popular new marketing tactics
  • Biggest anticipated risks for financial marketers
  • How affiliates see themselves in the marketing value chain
Get the Report
2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

GUIDE

2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

See what factors influence CPAs and where marketplace rates are across financial products, channels, and payout models.

This guide provides exclusive insights into CPA trends, helping you:

  • Compare your acquisition costs against industry trends
  • Identify areas of opportunity to optimize spend across channels
  • Refine payout modeling to win deals with top affiliate partners
  • Adapt to market trends influencing acquisition costs in 2025
Get the Guide

Check Out Our Latest Releases While You Wait

LLM-Report-Tablet-Mockup-1

Report

Competing for Visibility in the Age of AI

This report reveals how to position your brand to be discovered, cited, and trusted with actionable strategies to ensure your financial institution shows up where it matters the most: when customers are ready to engage and convert.

This guide provides exclusive insights into AI-driven visibility trends, helping you:

  • Benchmark your brand’s visibility across AI-powered platforms to see how you compare to peers
  • Understand the role of affiliates and publishers in driving trust, citations, and discovery in LLM-generated results
  • Identify strategic levers to stay visible as consumer discovery shifts from traditional search to conversational AI
  • Implement actionable tactics to position your financial institution where customers are ready to engage and convert
Get the Report
2025-FIAM-Tablet-Mockup

REPORT

2025 Financial Affiliate Marketing Report

We surveyed 100+ top affiliates and publishers in financial services to uncover industry predictions, priorities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the year ahead.

This includes:

  • Business and consumer priorities in the US vs Canada
  • Top growth areas for different products
  • Most popular new marketing tactics
  • Biggest anticipated risks for financial marketers
  • How affiliates see themselves in the marketing value chain
Get the Report
2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

GUIDE

2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

See what factors influence CPAs and where marketplace rates are across financial products, channels, and payout models.

This guide provides exclusive insights into CPA trends, helping you:

  • Compare your acquisition costs against industry trends
  • Identify areas of opportunity to optimize spend across channels
  • Refine payout modeling to win deals with top affiliate partners
  • Adapt to market trends influencing acquisition costs in 2025
Get the Guide