Communication challenges and opportunities emerging in the Fintech sector
Whenever one thinks of Fintech, the word Capital immediately comes to mind, be it the capital of the investors behind the startup or the fact that the sector itself has managed to grant access to financial capital through the effective use of technology. The lockdown and pandemic gave a completely new dimension and impetus to the fintech sector and the buzzword changed from Capital to CAP i.e. Comfort and Protection. Aman Dhall (Ex Policy Bazaar), Tanvi Taneja (LoanTap), Rajath Kumar (Capital Float), Priya Patankar (PhonePe), and Dimple Mehta (PayU) came together for the first time to discuss the communication challenges and opportunities they have seen emerge in the Fintech sector over the past few months.
An all-new approach: One of the major changes that the sector faced was in the shift in adoption rates and the emergence of new segments. As Priya (of PhonePe) said “It is interesting that segments which were initially very reluctant to adopt digital have now migrated to it and are very comfortable using the technology.”
Most of the panelists felt that the pandemic in a way served as an infliction point to late adopters of digital technology as they looked to change their communication to serve a new set of customers who had not been very comfortable with digital technology. Unlike in the past where there was a hesitancy towards onboarding digital technologies, this time around, there was an eagerness to learn and adapt amongst a relatively older customer base and hence the job of communicators was more towards easing new customers into the entire world of Fintech, through step by step guidance through GIFs and Videos.
In search of Comfort and Convenience: However, in some cases, the experience was different wherein the sheer availability of comfort and convenience helped in making service and feature viral as in the case of Capital Float, where Rajath adds “It was fascinating to see that during the lockdown, people were wanting to actually explore different functionalities within their apps to ensure maximum comfort. Despite minimal or no marketing effort, there were some features that went viral mostly through word of mouth and there is a proliferation of services across the user base. I think it’s really creating a mutually beneficial sort of environment for all, which certainly simplifies our work as communicators who can draw focus away from the bare essentials of educating the audience to inform them.”
Aman Dhall added “ The biggest positive of the pandemic is that it has led people to truly experience how empowering, safe and convenient, digital can be for their daily lives. It has created a genuine organic pull for the digital ecosystem, a big shift from how it was perceived and forced upon lives during the demonetization period.”
SME’s see the light: However with consumers on one side of the spectrum, it was equally imperative to ease and onboard the small businesses and traders, who have also for the large part, been digital averse. Dimple Mehta, PayU said “Covid-19 crisis has persuaded the consumers to accelerate their shift towards digital payment modes. When consumers showed a clear behavior shift, merchants realized the need to evolve and digitise their business to be able to survive the crisis. ln response to increased merchant need, the focus of our communication campaign was to educate SMBs on the importance of going digital, to unlock the growth potential of their business, and build their trust in digital payments. Throughout the pandemic, we have empowered several SMBs to adapt to a new way of operating digitally.”
While the ease and comfort of onboarding is one aspect, the other aspect is also about the role of protection amongst communicators. “We observed that there is a general distrust in the environment in the last few months. People are even hesitant to meet other people during these tough times. Thus, there is a need to establish trust, for which, it is important to elaborate on the “Why” along with the “How”. Along with being transparent, as part of our communication, we go one step ahead to explain to our customers as to why we are seeking particular documents and information. This gives the customers a reason to trust us.” Tanvi added.
Protection and Cyber Security a must: Moderating the Creative Sandbox discussion, Nikhil Dey, Vice-Chair Weber Shandwick summed up the session saying “The pandemic taught us the need for having CAP i.e. Comfort And Protection, each is interlinked given that a false sense of comfort is also dangerous because we know that there’s a huge risk of security, and therefore protecting and making sure that, along with the ease and comfort of online transactions, as communicators, we are also evangelizing the message of safety and security to customers for their protection.” Educating first-time users and new users on the basics related to cybersecurity and some of the ways to say safe while transacting online is going to take the collaborative effort of the ecosystem. A sustained and always-on campaign focused on protecting consumers is absolutely the order of the day. It’s time to put a CAP on it.
About the author:
Nikhil Dey, Vice Chairman, Weber Shandwick India