Financial Platform Charlie Debuts Fraud Protection Tools for Older Americans

Senior-focused financial platform Charlie has introduced a suite of fraud protection tools for older Americans.

The company’s FraudShield offering, announced in a news release Wednesday (Nov. 8), uses data about 62-and-older consumers’ static habits, patterns and preferences to help combat the $28-billion-per-year problem of financial crimes against older Americans.

“Far too many older Americans are devastated by financial fraud every year in the United States, and they deserve protections designed specifically for their unique needs and behaviors,” said Kevin Nazemi, co-founder and CEO of Charlie, describing some of the offerings tools.

“Consider something as simple as online limits: if a Charlie customer only shops online at Amazon, all other online transactions can be simply toggled off.”

There’s also “Co-Pilot,” which makes it easier for older Americans who are reluctant to share their banking information with their families, to have a partner on the account to help keep tabs on fraud threats without turning everything over.

“Or even having a photo of a grandchild on their homepage,” Nazemi said. “Many people 62+ get scammed by fake but real-looking bank websites — but Charlie allows them to add a personal touch to their page, so they always know where they are.”

The launch of FraudShield comes at a time when seniors make up the biggest share of the American population in at least a century. These seniors are a strong spending block, with Labor Department data showing they made up 22% of spending in 2022.

That’s keeping with information from the PYMNTS Intelligence and LendingClub collaboration “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-To-Paycheck Report,” which found that baby boomers and seniors were the most financially secure generation.

Just 49% of this cohort lives paycheck to paycheck, making it the only demographic with under half its members struggling to make ends meet.

And in spite of baby boomers’ and seniors’ reputation for being behind the curve compared to other generations when it comes to digital activities and transactions, older Americans showed a growing interest in retail subscriptions this year even as others pulled back.

“Despite general macroeconomic headwinds, the share of baby boomers and seniors subscribing to a retail subscription rose from 9.4% to 9.8% between February and April this year,” PYMNTS wrote, citing research from “Subscription Commerce Readiness Report: The Loyalty Factor,” a PYMNTS and sticky.io collaboration.