Klarna, Revolut and Moneybox. A few brands that come to mind when we think about fintech. The rise in fintech organisations has been extraordinary, with fintech unicorns growing fourfold between 2016 and 2021. What makes fintech so appealing to customers and how do they suit ever evolving customer behaviours?

The easy answer here is to state how these organisations have leveraged new technologies to benefit consumers. Though this is a fundamental part of the solution, the true value is derived from how they have reimagined the value chain for financial services. Consumers want to manage and improve their financial health seamlessly in their own time, giving them far more control with a global reach. Having access to spending analytics, discounts, cashbacks, money transfers, budgeting, crypto currency, and investment gives consumers more financial visibility to better support them with wealth growth.

Fintech organisations are leading the way when it comes to providing customers with greater flexibility to manage their finances. However, with the FCA’s new Consumer Duty on the horizon, what must fintech organisations do today to ensure they are ready?

Having flexibility in their operating model to adapt to changes is key, as well as strong learning and development capability. Not only do fintech organisations need to ensure that all consumers experience a consistent and appropriate Customer Experience (CX) and are treated fairly, but they also need to make sure that communications about new services and products are clear and not misleading. To achieve this, fintech organisations can invest in analytics to extract data from customer interactions via apps and other channels. From these analytics they can then detect vulnerability (especially with the cost of living rising) and identify customer pain points to resolve. This will also help them have clearer understanding of how to adapt their operating model to better support their customers and to adhere to regulations.

For ‘soonicorn’ organisations (those who are tipped to be the next $billion-dollar businesses), what CX advice would you give to them today to help them drive their business forward?

Sustainable scale! The overall concept of a scale-up might be strong, but many fail due to lack of operational maturity. The focus on growth can sometimes be at the expense of operational efficiency and effective CX. It can be difficult to balance these priorities, but customer expectation is high and the competition is fierce. One way to overcome the challenge of rapid growth is for organisations to outsource customer support, whether that is through traditional outsourcing processes or leveraging the latest concepts such as GigCX.

For unicorn fintech organisations, what CX challenges do they face now that they are at the top and how can they overcome them?

Competition. Investment in fintech, especially in the UK, is high and low effort effective customer support is increasingly a key area of attraction, retention, and sustainable differentiation. However, it is important for organisations not to lose their human touch and ensure that communications with customers are just as much as a priority as introducing new CX technology solutions to reduce customer effort. Deploying technology alone is not enough.

In addition, given the current macro-economic climate, the market dynamics are shifting, and an efficiency focus is beginning to take hold. Customer on-boarding and customer support are two of the key areas fintech organisations should review to proactively address this challenge.

If you could give fintech organisations one piece of advice to be ahead of the CX game over the next 10+ years, what would it be?

Fintech organisations are off to a great start with their focus on consumer behaviours and needs. And the industry is recognising the need to put consumers first, with an array of options and choices at their disposal, necessitating financial services to innovate in order to meet customer expectations. The pendulum has swung to place the power with the consumer and those organisations who recognise this can stay ahead of the game and those that don’t will fall by the wayside. This means customer experience will be at the forefront of the industry for years to come.

So, my best advice to fintechs is to invest in their operating model, innovate and continue to focus on the customer. This may include the adoption of AI and other advanced technologies, continuous improvement, and potentially partnering with specialist outsource providers.

Want to talk about all things fintech? Connect with Aimie

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aimiejago/
Email: aimie.jago@davies-group.com