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Trust means everything. For organizations, for governments, and individuals. And as we transition to a more digital world, it is becoming increasingly important to maintain, and increasingly difficult to manage.

Worldwide, 1.2 billion transactions take place every day across the banking system, from transfers and payments to opening new accounts and loan approvals. That’s 1.2 billion opportunities for financial crimes to occur, such as money laundering, bribery and tax fraud. And with cybercrime continuing to hit headlines, the fear and reluctance from consumers to trust FinTech services is spiralling.

So how do consumers know to trust you over any of your competitors? We have put together 5 tips that will be sure to win your customers trust.

Champion Transparency

Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy with the way they manage their money and are on high alert for financial firms pulling the wool over their eyes. The power of choice is on the consumer’s side, who are turning to comparison sites to find out what a firm is offering and how it stacks up against the competition. With 94% of consumers staying loyal to transparent brands, transparency trumps branding and pricing when it comes to customer trust.

Particularly in the payments industry, greater visibility aligns with customer expectations. Consumers want to see the route their money will take during the payment journey, being notified at key steps of the process, such as when a client’s money is received and when it reaches the destination account. This has been trialled by Currencies Direct and Ripple with resounding success, using xCurrent payment protocol to allow end-users to track their payments at every stage of a transfer.

Innovations like this are the future of international payments and demonstrate how groundbreaking technology can greatly improve the customer experience.

Transparency is all the more difficult when the press is bad. If a breach falls in your lap, you have an obligation to be honest with your customers about it. Customers deserve to know what data you are collecting and how it will be used.

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Prove Your Worth

Competition is rife in FinTech and only looking to intensify in the coming years as the sector is expected to grow by hundreds of billions of dollars in 2022. If you want customers to choose you, it’s critical to explain clearly how you can help them.

What does your service offer that others don’t? How does your service perform better than anyone else? What makes your mission uniquely meaningful? These are all the questions users want answered to ensure they are putting their money safely in your hands. Use testimonials and demonstrations to convey your product’s value.

Go that one step further and provide a free trial. The American-based personal finance FinTech, You Need A Budget, offers a 34-Day free trial for users to see for themselves if the award-winning budgeting software works for them. You won’t be alone in making this move, as many FinTech’s chose this path in the wake of Covid-19, with the hope that once the pandemic is over, users who took advantage of the free trial will decide to continue using their service.

Bulletproof Your Security

Rigorous compliance regulations are an everyday hurdle for FinTechs. In the US, apps have to adhere to both federal and state laws. Bulletproofing your customer data is a given, but showcasing this to potential customers is what matters.

What compliance efforts have you gone through? What regulatory policies does your app follow? What security protocols are in place to safeguard customers data and money? Highlight this key information on your website and social media. We have found FAQ pages are the best way to relay this information, naturally attracting customers seeking these answers. The San-Francisco based FinTech, Chime, is a great example of how they use their page to discuss online debit card EMV chip technology and how it protects their customer.

Know Your Customer

As the saying goes, trust goes both ways, and financial services are getting smarter about pushing the benefits of their offering to customers. KYC practices are now crucial in fostering trust not only amongst customers, but also the entire digital ecosystem. From digital passporting to sophisticated identity checks such as voice and image recognition, digital technology is facilitating robust security in banks.

Complying with KYC policies will mitigate any financial risks of a business arrangement, both for you and your customer. Knowing the source of a customer’s income, gauging their capability of investing in your market, and obtaining their complete financial portfolio and background creates a seamless workflow to make your customers feel they are working with a legitimate company and are comfortable allocating funds to your firm.

Close to 200 jurisdictions across the globe have committed to recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global organization aimed at preventing money laundering.

Don’t Do It Alone

To eliminate any concerns or worries from customers of your unknown service, put their mind at ease. Build strong relationships with other big names they are familiar with to confirm the credibility of your service and gain that important stamp of approval. Driven by digital customer adoption and regulatory changes, collaboration between banks and FinTechs are really starting to pick up.

A good way to get your name heard is through competitions. Every year, Visa partners with FinTech startups that win innovation challenges. Not only do the winners get to trade on Visa’s name, but they benefit from deep financial expertise that newer companies simply don’t have.

The real cost of financial crime is damage to customer trust. And as the financial digital ecosystem deepens, it increasingly becomes crucial to close the widening gap. But all is not lost. These tips will provide you with a guideline on how to build trust early and often to overcome this barrier.

Your Partner in Growth

As the FinTech industry continues to grow, so does the need for talent to facilitate this. At Storm2 we have specialized in connecting FinTech talent with disruptive FinTech players such as yourself. We can assist in any stage of your growth by connecting you with the right people. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we would be more than happy to see how we can help and support you in your journey and with your recruitment needs.

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