4 takeaways from Nordic Fintech Week

Customer Strategy Associate Rosie Lee recently attended Nordic Fintech Week (NFW), a 3-day long conference in Copenhagen bringing together disruptive fintechs on a global scale.?

Here are her key takeaways ??

I’m a customer researcher so perhaps my view is slightly biased. I won’t mention crypto or web3 once and these topics were covered in depth at NFW. However, customer experience is important and if nothing else, NFW confirmed for me that it’s not enough to purely focus on delivering a good customer experience.?

The answer lies in a more nuanced evolution of fintech involving greater collaboration between incumbents and neobanks through partnerships and platforms that go beyond borders, cultivate trust with entire communities and respond to deep customer needs. With this in mind, here are my four takeaways from NFW from the perspective of a customer researcher.?

1)?Fintechs need frictionless friction

This sounds like a double negative, but friction at the right moment is essential for? building trust with customers. Of course, building trust is any fintech’s goal. However, introducing friction in the form of tangible advice goes further than simply responding to customer needs, towards a world that carefully considers customer wellbeing. For example, Pleo introduces much needed advice and guidance to develop trust with their customers.?

2) It’s the banks’ responsibility to be transparent

The word ‘transparency’ was thrown around a lot at NFW. While alternative words are needed to better articulate why transparency is important, I propose transparency really means fostering a sense of community. For example, Natasha de Terán gave a keynote on how digital payments have changed more than just how we pay - their frictionless nature is borderless? and removes awareness of ever paying for anything. It raises the question, what is the role of banks in a world where payments affect more than just people’s financial lives? As payments become increasingly frictionless, how can institutions communicate transparently with entire communities?

3) Fintechs need to care deeply about their customers?

Caring deeply about customers not only means building trust with an entire community, but also building an ecosystem of purpose and partnerships that respond to customer needs beyond financial needs. Rappi started off as a food delivery company and is now an omnichannel that provides banking and travelling services. It’s a great example of a Super App that considers customers' holistic lifestyle needs. It’s not just about responding to customers’ financial needs, but about creating ecosystems that respond to other related needs.

4) Customers are driving change?

During her talk on circular economies, Sarah H. made it clear that customers are driving the change. She gave a compelling example of how Gen Z customers are demanding second-hand products, reusable materials and greener delivery options. The panel also stressed the need for organisations to practice data transparency and to figure out ways to measure sustainability. Doing so would foster trust, cultivate community and reassure customers that their wellbeing is accounted for, beyond their financial wellbeing.?

I hope this post has helped shed some light on the importance of customer experience.

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