For years, fintech thrived by building a narrative of innovation and disruption. “We are better than banks” became its calling card, as flexible apps, lower fees and faster onboarding made traditional financial institutions look clunky by comparison. But as the sector matures, that narrative is starting to wear thin. Innovation is no longer enough. In today’s market, trust is the new benchmark and fintechs are learning that credibility is just as critical as code. The attention from regulators worldwide is intensifying, while investor expectations have also evolved. In other words, we’re entering a new chapter where reputation is foundational to survival and success. Fintechs must rethink how they communicate and drive value to customers and their target markets.
Reputation as a strategic asset: a turning point for fintech comms
According to QED Investors’ 2024 report, revenue among leading fintechs grew by 21 percent last year, and nearly 70 percent of public fintech companies were profitable. On paper, it’s a strong comeback story for the sector. Yet growth metrics alone no longer tell the full story. Investors, regulators and users are now looking deeper. They’re asking whether these companies are resilient and equipped to scale responsibly. In this environment, reputation becomes a company’s most valuable form of capital: a multiplier of trust and a hedge against risk.
This shift calls for a major recalibration for many founders and fintech marketers. Companies must clearly articulate how they navigate regulation, manage risk and operate with integrity. More than a branding exercise, this practice is risk management, business development and investor relations all rolled into one.
In 2024 alone, the SEC fined over 70 financial firms for improper corporate communications, with total penalties exceeding $2 billion. With this in mind, how a fintech talks about its business is now a mission-critical skill to develop. Evolving your communications strategies to meet a higher bar is the only way companies stand to win in this new environment. This kind of proactive transparency, readiness and accountability isn’t just checking boxes on some abstract list. And these aren’t just legacy institutions being caught off guard. Under the microscope, particularly if they’re angling for IPOs or international expansion.
Take Klarna and Clearpay, for example. These two major players in the U.K.’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector have been working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to develop guidelines that protect consumers. By signaling a collaborative and transparent posture toward regulators, these companies establish credibility with users, investors and oversight bodies alike.
Similarly, U.S.-based neobank Chime is building its infrastructure to reduce reliance on third-party partners and improve data and compliance control. Last year, the company rolled out its own software, ChimeCore, to process a portion of user transactions and help manage bookkeeping in-house. While this isn’t the sort of investment that drives viral excitement, it demonstrates a serious commitment to operational maturity and risk control. And in today’s market, that kind of strength can speak louder than a flash new feature.
What happens when communication breaks down
Unfortunately, the flip side of this story is just as instructive. The no-so-distant collapse of Silvergate Capital in 2023 remains a cautionary tale for fintechs everywhere. A former banking partner of now-defunct FTX, Silvergate came under intense scrutiny by regulators and market participants following the crypto exchange’s implosion. And what regulators found did not put any parties at ease: serious weaknesses in the bank’s AML controls, funds lost in suspicious transactions, insufficient oversight of high-risk clients and an overall lack of operational transparency.
Opaque public communications further compounded these operational failures. The SEC found that the bank misled investors with overly vague statements that downplayed serious risks. The resulting fallout included nearly $63 million in combined penalties, executive bans, mass client exits and an effectively evaporated stock price. Once those failures were discovered, the bank failed to communicate how it would fix the situation. What sent Silvergate into bankruptcy wasn’t just operational failure. It was also the erosion of trust. The lesson is simple: when communication lacks clarity or sincerity, it erodes the trust underpinning a company’s ability to recover.
Too often, fintechs underestimate the importance of proactive, strategic communication. They assume that regulators, customers or even investors understand how their product fits into the broader financial system, or worse, they hope that opacity will help avoid scrutiny altogether. When customers or partners can’t grasp how a company’s product meets compliance standards or regulators hear vague or misleading answers, it can breed confusion at best and suspicion at worst.
The best fintechs tailor their messaging based on their audience. Complex language and legal jargon may be necessary when speaking to regulators, but the same may backfire with retail customers. Legalese can create a sense of alienation for the average user, the opposite of what fintechs want when building user confidence. Clear, reliable communication is about making trust accessible.
A modern fintech communication playbook
On a practical level, what should a forward-thinking fintech communication strategy look like in 2025? Here are a few core principles:
- Lead with clarity: Be direct and relatable when explaining how your product fits into regulatory frameworks. Imagine explaining operations to a smart friend outside of the industry, making it real instead of rhetorical.
- Pull back the curtain: Share meaningful updates on compliance improvements, audits and security investments. Let users, regulators and investors see not just your app’s slick UI, but also some of what goes on behind the scenes.
- Balance tone and transparency: Don’t sugarcoat the risks. Being a mature and trustworthy business means acknowledging dangers and assuring your users that you’re working to keep them safe. Sidestepping often looks like an attempt to avoid accountability.
- Build trust before the crisis: The worst time to start showing off your compliance efforts is after something has gone wrong. Start the trust-building narrative early, especially if you’re heading toward an IPO or a new market. Companies that take the time to educate audiences early are less likely to raise too much panic when turbulence hits.
Ultimately, reputation isn’t earned with a single campaign or message, it’s a long and involved process of consistent, thoughtful actions. Every decision a fintech company makes, from hiring to software architecture to external messaging to security measures, shapes how the market perceives its integrity. As fintech continues to mature, the companies that succeed will be those that recognize communications as a core business function. This sector deals with something profoundly personal: people’s money. In that context, trust is the greatest currency an enterprise can wield.
