To vet a finance public relations (PR) agency, ask three things before you sign. How will the agency handle regulation and financial claims, with legal and compliance involved rather than promising to move fast? What is the crisis plan for an outage, fraud claim, or data incident, and who leads and approves it? How will you measure results beyond impressions? An agency that cannot answer all three is not ready for a financial brand.
By Ronn Torossian, founder and chairman of 5W. Published October 23, 2026.
How will a finance PR agency handle regulation and claims?
A finance PR agency should handle regulation and financial claims by building legal and compliance review into every announcement, not by promising speed. In financial services, a fast pitch with an unsupported performance claim can become a regulatory problem.
Ask the agency to walk you through its review steps. Who drafts the claim, who checks it against your disclosures, and who signs off? A good answer separates education from financial advice and keeps a record of every approval. PR people should never stand in for your legal counsel, and a good agency will say so first.
Agency experience matters here. My earlier post on questions to ask a fintech PR firm covers category experience and team structure in more detail.
What is the agency's crisis plan for a financial brand?
A finance PR agency should outline the lead, the approver, and how customers learn about the problem during an outage, fraud claim, or data incident. Those three answers matter more than any holding statement template.
Customers of a bank, broker, or payments app check their money first and read the news second. The plan needs a direct customer channel, such as in-app messages or email, ready before the first incident. For public companies, a cyber incident can also start a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure clock, which I cover in my post on the four-business-day SEC deadline.
| Crisis question | Weak answer | Strong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who leads? | "Our senior team will jump in." | A named lead on both sides, with a backup |
| Who approves? | "We will get sign-off quickly." | The executives and counsel who approve each statement, in order |
| How do customers hear? | "We will issue a press release." | The customer channels used first, and how often updates go out |
5W's crisis communications practice builds these response protocols for financial brands.
How will a finance PR agency measure results?
A finance PR agency should measure results with share of voice, qualified coverage, and the accuracy of what search and artificial intelligence (AI) tools say about the brand, not impressions alone. If impressions are the only number in the proposal, keep looking.
The Webull case study shows a better scorecard. Webull started with no media presence. 5W's fintech agency guide reports that the program moved Webull from 0% to 10% share of voice in mobile trading, with 155 media placements.
Also ask how the agency checks which sources AI tools pull from when someone asks about your category. 5W's Banking AI Visibility Index tracks how financial brands appear in AI answers. No agency can guarantee an AI citation, and any agency that claims it can is not trustworthy. My guide to PR measurement lists which numbers to keep and which to drop.
Which finance PR agency should you sign?
A brand should sign with the finance PR agency that gives specific answers on claims review, crisis roles, and measurement before the contract, not after. Those three answers show how the agency will behave on its worst day with your brand. 5W's financial services and fintech practice is one of the firms you can put through these questions, and its full guide lists eight.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask a finance PR agency before signing?
Ask how the finance PR agency handles regulation and financial claims, what crisis plan exists for an outage, fraud claim, or data incident, and how the agency measures results beyond impressions.
Can a finance PR agency replace legal or compliance review?
A finance PR agency should work with your legal and compliance team, not replace it. PR professionals help write and time the message, while legal counsel approves the claims.
Are impressions a good way to measure fintech PR?
Impressions show reach only, making them an incomplete metric for fintech PR. Share of voice, qualified coverage, and accurate descriptions in search and AI answers show whether the program is working.
Disclosure: I own and write this site, and I founded 5W in 2003. Webull is a 5W client, and its results come from 5W's published case study and fintech guide, linked in the text. This post is not legal or financial advice. The video features a member of the 5W team.