If you spent last week walking at least 15,000 steps a day around a conference hall, contemplated conducting a business meeting on a pedalo and accrued an inordinate amount of keep cups, tote bags and socks…there’s a high chance that you were in the midst of Money20/20 Europe. And if not, don’t worry, because the MHP team was, and we’ve consolidated the biggest themes from the show and what they mean for the future of fintech communications.

Finding smart money

Just last month, we spoke to over 50 senior fintech leaders across Europe to find that almost half (45%) have their sights set on capital injections over the next 12 months. It was therefore positive to hear across the three days that there is money out there to be had, but, the fundraising game has changed. Former Mastercard CEO Javier Perez touched on this when discussing the founding story of Global PayTech Ventures, his specialist VC firm for payments companies. His view is that as the sector switches back into growth mode, specialist investors that understand specific subsectors will underpin success and will be critical for founders to steer them on their journeys. This is how founders can find what he called ‘smart money’.

In a conversation with another VC firm, one investor told us how fintechs seeking funding don’t necessarily need to be wildly different, given the saturation of the market. Rather, focusing on what you do that is better, more efficient or how the structure of your organisation is more effective, is going to be a significantly more convincing story to get investors onboard. It’s not always about reinventing the wheel.

It’s clear that to unlock the mounting dry powder of investors, comms professionals have a crucial role in telling a story that balances being both specific enough to appeal to deep sector investors, but that is firmly grounded in reality.

Extracting real-world value

Why would an online travel operator have been at the heart of one of the most impactful sessions of the week? Well, because Booking.com is an example of how a non-financial organisation is benefiting from one of the hottest trends in the fintech sector right now: embedded finance. Exemplifying real-world value is something that came through heavily. Various businesses from outside the industry talked to the successes they have seen by embracing fintech solutions, and Booking.com’s session was a prime example of fintech impact in action. Its partnership with embedded finance provider, YouLend, focused on approaching innovation from both a traveller and hotelier’s perspective, implementing solutions that have improved pain points, like FX, as well as creating more value, like seamlessly building in financing offerings.

Breaking out of the fintech echo chamber is a must in order to show real-world value. Fintechs inherently know the value that their solutions can bring, but showing how this works in practice is a far more powerful story. It’s what will attract the attention of potential customers and create the FOMO that’s required to get them intrigued and onboard. And with 55% of European fintechs focusing on customer acquisition over the next 12 months, it’s a tactic that comms professionals should place significant focus on.

The power of diverse expertise

We couldn’t not touch upon the topic of AI. But we needn’t focus on the potential that it holds to propel the industry forward, because countless use cases show how it’s already happening. What was an interesting conversation to dive into, though, was the need for banks and more traditional financial institutions to have the tech competency within their leadership teams if it is to truly become part of the fabric of the business. That was the message from two Europe’s biggest banks, ING and Deutsche Bank.

As NVIDIA’s Kevin Levitt put it: the football teams are walking onto the pitch, but we’re not at the national anthems just yet. So the message for banks and fintechs alike? While we’re still in the early days, get the right team in place now for AI success. With over a third (38%) of European fintech leaders saying that having experts with deep product and/or proposition knowledge is the most important element in being able to tell a compelling story about the business, fintech comms teams must elevate the voices of these experts within the organisation as they build out their A(I)-teams.

It was another whirlwind few days of inspiring and exciting conversations, and above all, the returning sense of optimism was palpable. As the sector sets its sights on growth, it’s these three areas that we think are most pertinent for comms professionals and, if applied, will set fintechs up to tell even bigger, bolder and more compelling stories at next year’s show. We already can’t wait to see you there!

Our report Reputation and the future of European fintech: Powering growth through effective communications’ can be downloaded at the link, and if you’d like to speak to the team about any of the topics discussed, please reach out to [email protected]