Advertise on Sites Like NerdWallet or Bankrate as a Fintech or Bank: How to Get Started

If you’re exploring affiliate marketing for the first time, it’s important to first consider whether you’re actually ready to take on partners like NerdWallet or Bankrate.

Both sites are selective and have hundreds of brands that approach them. But there are a few things to look out for to know if it’s the right time to partner with Bankrate or NerdWallet:

1. Do you have the budget?

Sites like Bankrate and NerdWallet can drive considerable volumes, which means you need to be able to handle the volume and the spend that come with it. Committing to that kind of substantive and extended spending is the first aspect you need to ensure before approaching them.

2. Do you have a product they’re already talking about?

You need a compelling, competitive product to succeed on NerdWallet or Bankrate.

If you’re still building up your product or haven’t yet found product-market fit, then wait until your offering is stronger before reaching out to them. They may not even consider you until you have a stronger product.

But, if you notice that one of these sites is already talking about your product, this will most likely make approaching them easier. Though how they present your product may not be entirely to your liking.

3. Does your product convert well?

Sites like NerdWallet and Bankrate want to recommend good quality products they believe in to their audiences.

When they send their audiences to your site, they want to know that it’s a quality experience where there won’t be a lot of drop off.

If you’re seeing a low conversion rate, maybe fix up your experience before engaging with these platforms.

4. Can you handle large volumes?

Landing a placement is only half the challenge, sustaining the traffic is the other half. Before approaching either publisher, make sure you have:

• Funnels and workflows built for volume, so no lead goes cold or drops off before converting
• Sales team capacity to follow up on the increased lead flow, where relevant
• A sales funnel that can capture and convert traffic at scale, not just handle a trickle of visitors

Getting the opportunity to work with a site like Bankrate or NerdWallet means you’ve genuinely nailed your “why us.” If your product isn’t yet strong enough to stand out among top competitors, that’s a signal you may not be ready for these two specifically, not that affiliate marketing itself is off the table.

If that’s where you’re at:

Smaller, niche affiliate partners, like bloggers and influencers, or a financial services marketing agency, can help you build volume and find product-market fit before you’re ready for a top-tier placement. The right partner won’t just wait for you to be ready. They’ll help you get there, and tell you honestly when the timing and fit are right.

If you can say yes to all four readiness questions, here’s how to start partnering with NerdWallet and Bankrate.

In our experience, there are various ways to partner with publishers like NerdWallet and Bankrate so you’ll want to be strategic in your approach. Here are a few examples of possible campaigns you can inquire about.

1. Sponsor a newsletter or content piece on Bankrate

This approach can work well for partners like Bankrate. You pay them a specific upfront fee, and in exchange, the Bankrate team will send out an email or publish an article promoting your product.

The benefit of this approach is that for a fixed, reliable fee you know you’ll get in front of a certain number of prospects. It’s also very easy to set up, since it’s just a section in an email.

The downside is that this email marketing or content approach can be quite expensive without guaranteed results. You’re only paying for exposure and are not paying cost per lead or CPA (cost per acquisition).

As we’ll see below, other approaches like affiliate marketing are a lot more cost effective since you only pay on a performance basis.

2. Form a strategic partnership

This approach is not available for all financial services companies, credit unions or startups, and is reserved for a select number of financial products.

With a strategic partnership, NerdWallet and Bankrate can embed your product or user flow into their website powered by your financial institution, if it benefits their users.

The benefit of such integrations is that the user experience is smoother and more congruent for customers, decreasing drop off rates or increasing deposit sizes.

The downside is that this is a lot more complex to integrate.

You’ll need an internal product team that can dedicate resources to setting this up. And of course, this is a partnership that has to make sense for NerdWallet and Bankrate as well.

3. Run financial affiliate marketing campaigns

Affiliate marketing is the most common partnership model with sites like NerdWallet and Bankrate. Publishers promote your product and you pay a cost per acquisition (CPA) for referred customers, meaning you only pay for results. For example, if a customer clicks from a NerdWallet article and gets approved for your product, you pay NerdWallet a cost per action, typically an approved account, for that referral.

Why it works

• You only pay based on performance, not exposure, making it a scalable channel for financial institutions
• NerdWallet and Bankrate’s high traffic volume and lead quality can quickly grow your customer base and deposits
• Companies including Acorns, Robinhood, Ally Bank, SoFi, Chase, and Credit Sesame already work closely with these affiliate partners

Where it gets complicated

• Costs can climb if affiliates negotiate a higher CPA or push for cost-per-click instead, especially if they’re unfamiliar with your brand
• Without sufficient conversion volume, the economics can work against you
• Smaller, niche publishers are often a better fit if you don’t have the budget or scale to compete for top-tier placement

Managing affiliate terms, CPA negotiations, and partner fit isn’t something most in-house teams do often enough to get right on the first try. This is exactly the kind of groundwork an experienced affiliate partner handles on your behalf, so your team can focus on the product, not the negotiation.

Bankrate offers a contact form for “rate table advertising,” commonly used by mortgage lenders and similar products. NerdWallet publishes little public information about partnerships, so the most effective approach for both is reaching the right person on their team directly, not submitting a form and waiting.

Once you’re advertising with Bankrate, it’s important that you can tie the data they provide to your own conversion reporting, so you can optimize your strategy and improve ROI. So make sure to have the tools that allow you to make this connection.

Before reaching out, know your approach, how you’d like to work together, and have your product and numbers ready to discuss. Here are your main paths forward:

1. Send a PR pitch to an editor

NerdWallet and Bankrate are editorially driven, with teams of editors who evaluate financial products and write reviews. A well-crafted press release can get your product picked up.

• Editorial teams don’t manage business partnerships, so this can get you on their radar, but won’t necessarily connect you with the right team for links and promotions
• There’s no guarantee of a response, even with a strong pitch

2. Reach out to key contacts on LinkedIn

If you want a real business relationship, you’ll need to find the person responsible for partnerships specifically.

• This typically means researching their website, social channels, and LinkedIn to identify the right contact
• Finding that person, and getting a response, can take time

3. Work with an affiliate agency

Rather than approaching NerdWallet or Bankrate cold, an experienced affiliate partner with existing relationships can open the door faster.

• You avoid competing for attention as one of thousands of unknown brands trying to break in
• An established partner has already built the trust and track record these publishers look for
• Instead of managing outreach, negotiation, and onboarding yourself, your partner handles it on your behalf

This is where working with a specialized affiliate agency makes the difference. Rather than starting from zero, you benefit from relationships already in place, and a team that knows exactly how to position your product for these publishers.

How Fintel Connect connects banks, credit unions, and fintechs with NerdWallet and Bankrate

We already know what it takes to qualify for NerdWallet and Bankrate, and how to assess your brand’s odds honestly before you invest time in the process.

• No wasted effort chasing the wrong contacts or sending follow-ups into the void
• Guidance on which product to promote and the likely minimum spend required, so you know your budget before committing to anything
• If your product isn’t yet editorially picked up, we help get it in front of their team for independent assessment, since editorial independence is central to how these publishers operate

Our goal isn’t just a single placement. We aim to get you onto NerdWallet’s and Bankrate’s full partner list, so they evaluate your brand holistically rather than one pitched product at a time, which compounds the value of the relationship over time.

None of the paths above guarantee a NerdWallet or Bankrate partnership. You could invest real time and resources only to find they’re not the right fit for your budget or product. This is part of why we built Fintel Connect as an all-in-one affiliate platform, network, agency, and content compliance solution exclusively for banks, credit unions, and fintechs.

Financial affiliate marketing case studies

• How Grasshopper Bank scaled new account approvals by 250%
• How Coast Capital Credit Union drove 650% growth in new accounts
• How Qtrade achieved 127% growth

We’ll tell you the best way forward, even if that’s not NerdWallet or Bankrate

NerdWallet and Bankrate are two of the best-known names in personal finance, so it’s natural to want in. But they may not be the right fit yet, given their commission rates, minimum spend requirements, and the acquisition team needed to handle their volume.

• We take a holistic look at your product, brand, and budget before recommending a path
• If NerdWallet or Bankrate isn’t the right move yet, we’ll say so, and point you toward strong alternatives like Millennial Money, Finance Buzz, or Moneywise instead
• Thousands of publishers are available through our network, so there’s a strong chance the right fit is already on our platform

We’ll run your entire affiliate program, not just one placement

Most brands pursuing NerdWallet or Bankrate are also looking to build a broader affiliate presence and managing more than 5-10 partners from a spreadsheet quickly becomes unmanageable.

• One partner, not two: you won’t need a separate platform and a separate agency to manage relationships
• We assess your product and goals, build your strategy, and integrate NerdWallet and Bankrate data directly into your reporting so you can track ROI in one place
• Our affiliate network is exclusively financial services, meaning publishers already familiar with your product category
• Fintel Check, our AI-powered content compliance monitoring tool, keeps affiliate messaging aligned with your standards, including the ability to filter publishers by attributes like credit score

In this article, we’ve covered the different ways to partner and reach out to sites like NerdWallet and Bankrate.

We’ve also explained how we at Fintel Connect help financial services companies advertise on Bankrate and NerdWallet, and why we also advise when it may or may not make sense for the company.

Although NerdWallet and Bankrate are two of the biggest top tier publishers in financial services, it doesn’t mean they’re the right publishers for your company, as it depends on your product, budget and the stage you’re at with affiliate marketing.

1. How do I know if my company is ready to work with NerdWallet or Bankrate?

You should have:

• A strong, competitive product that converts well
• The budget to support high-traffic partnerships
• The operational capacity to handle increased lead volume
• A seamless sales funnel and user experience

2. What are the different ways to advertise on NerdWallet or Bankrate?

There are three main ways:

• Newsletter/content sponsorships: pay upfront for exposure
• Strategic partnerships: embed product flows into their site
• Affiliate marketing: pay per approved customer acquisition

3. Is it guaranteed that NerdWallet or Bankrate will work with my brand?

No. These sites are selective and prioritize strong, reputable products. If your product lacks traction, budget, or clear value, they may not accept the partnership. Alternative niche publishers may be a better fit.

4. What are the risks of using a general affiliate platform like Impact to reach these publishers?

While you can find top publishers there, your brand competes with thousands of others. It’s difficult to get visibility without existing relationships, and outreach is still required.

5. What if NerdWallet or Bankrate already mention my product?

That’s a great starting point! You can leverage that exposure by:

• Reaching out to editors to request updates or optimizations
• Exploring ways to formalize a partnership and track conversions
• Using affiliate tools to better measure and scale the exposure