Great Examples of Digital-Only Fintech Websites

Author: Dawn Wills

The impact of tech-based banking is going from strength to strength. Whilst a growing number of customers are appreciating the convenience and speed of ‘banking by app’ this does create pressure for these banks’ marketing teams.

First impressions count. This is especially true when there are no branches and no ‘human contact’ to confirm and explain the marketing messages that banks need to communicate in order to attract new customers. This pressure grows further when banks try to tempt individuals to switch accounts. Online experience has now become more important than customers’ offline experience of their banks.

Large financial institutions across the world could lose 24% of their revenues to financial technology companies over the next three to five years, according to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Of the more than 1300 financial industry executives polled by the professional services firm, 88% said they feared their business was at risk to standalone financial technology companies in areas such as payments, money transfers and personal finance 

A recent analysis of fintech websites by Econsultancy has highlighted five which show good clarity of message, products and plain-speaking – the areas that traditional banks have struggled with:

1. N26

This is a great example of clarity from the mobile-only bank – uncluttered and benefit-driven:

2. Trov

Lifestyle and user experience are used to entice younger audiences to try this on-demand insurance site, (with a text-based claims service):

3. Acorns

The micro-investment platform insists that ‘Anyone Can Grow Wealth’ and clearly illustrates the three steps involved:

4. Clearscore 

This fintech company's name means that clarity is essential for its website:

Its rival, Experian, has tried the same tactic – however the result is more crowded and moves away from the clear need of website visitors – accessing their credit score:

5. Stash

This investment platform concentrates upon small investments. Whereas Acorns promotes ‘convenience’ and ‘low risk’ benefits, Stash concentrates upon ‘empowerment’. This message relates to the value and the nature of customers’ investments:

Whilst traditional banks are dealing with legacy systems, a myriad of product lines and a varied customer base, they are giving online and mobile banking greater presence on their websites:

These increasingly important services appear beneath the ‘fold’ but they are making an appearance. Time will tell if traditional financial services should be doing more to capture today’s mobile-savvy customer.