ar-x-finlit
a financial literacy platform built for CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) to increase product engagement and retention among Gen-Z customers. the core insight: gen-Z doesn't distrust banks — they distrust boring. ar-x-finlit meets them where they are, using augmented reality and interactive education to make financial products feel relevant.
the brief
CIBC identified a significant drop-off in product adoption and mobile app engagement among customers aged 18–26. traditional financial education content — PDFs, in-branch pamphlets, static blog posts — was failing to cut through. the challenge was to redesign financial literacy as something worth paying attention to, not just content to be skipped.
the solution
AR-enhanced educational modules triggered by physical interactions: scanning a credit card, visiting a branch, tapping an NFC point. short-form interactive content designed around the actual financial decisions this cohort faces — paying rent for the first time, getting a credit card, dealing with student debt, starting to invest. gamified progression with real product rewards tied to completing modules.
outcome
designed as a proof-of-concept engagement layer built to integrate with CIBC's existing mobile infrastructure. the framework demonstrated meaningful improvements in simulated engagement metrics and was presented to CIBC stakeholders. the project validated that financial education for gen-Z is fundamentally a design and delivery problem, not a content problem.