With the advent of technology, the world has become a global village. People are embracing technology with open arms and are using it to connect in every possible way. The fintech sector is no different, the need to keep up with the evolving Requirements of customers has become all the more important.

In recent times, a lot of sectors have picked up pace in terms of growth. With the advent of the growth of OTT, online streaming music platforms & other subscription-based models becoming popular these days. It’s because they are affordable, convenient, and easy to customize. 

Similarly, a radical transformation has happened in the fintech ecosystem. This growth has happened in payment solutions like UPI, wallets, one-tap payments, tokenization, and blockchain in the last ten years. Seeing this, it is quite evident that customer expectations and needs are driving new product breakthroughs. 

Fintech as a sector itself has revamped entirely in terms of providing a seamless customer experience while gaining trust as well as by delivering secured payment platforms. 

Challenges in Building Fintech Products

Developing successful fintech products doesn’t come easy. It always comes with challenges such as compliance with the latest Government norms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and big data capabilities. Along with improved user experience (UX), data security among others.  
 
If these are taken care of in the nascent stages, the challenges will be minimal at the time when the product is put to test. 

Now, you must be thinking what’s the driving force that helps in building such successful products in the fintech ecosystem? Here’s a list of them: 

  1. Innovation 

In the online payment environment, the customer goes through a lot of problems such as payment failures, delayed refunds, etc. As per the studies, a merchant is the one who bears the brunt of cart abandonments due to the limited availability of payment options, complex checkouts, or any other technical glitches.

Manas Mishra, Chief Product Officer, PayU India believes “A customer-first mindset is a driving force behind any innovation. Creating successful fintech solutions at scale relies on this guiding principle.”

As a result, a lot of innovations have happened in the payment world to tackle such problems. Problems focusing on providing the best customer experience. With the use of innovative solutions like One-Click payments, customers can make quick payments at the checkout without switching over to different tabs, remembering their CVVs and OTPs. Isn’t that cool, right? 
 
Even, studies have revealed that such innovative solutions can make the payment process 1.5x faster

So, it’s the need of the hour to invest in seamless payment experiences. In other words, payment experiences that foster repeat purchases and increase average transaction value and transaction success rates. 

Long story short, to make your product development successful, it has to go beyond meeting business needs. Not to forget that it also add value on a larger scale. To accomplish this, product managers and engineers have a suitable environment. An environment where they get a level of trust, empowerment, and ownership. Thus, they are more likely to generate innovative ideas. 

  1. Deliver what your customer wants 

We are currently living in a world where customer preferences and requirements are constantly changing. If a brand does not evolve itself with the changing winds, chances are high that it will perish soon.

The Pandemic era served as a catalyst that led to a massive change in the way customers use online payments. They were keen to use contactless payment methods that are quick and can be used anytime, anywhere.

Suitably, the payment service providers along with merchants have responded to the emerging needs with omnichannel solutions. Right now, a lot of payment decisions are being made through multiple payment channels. They have expanded to payment checkpoints too. 

Consequently, businesses are now adopting omnichannel payment solutions to provide a seamless experience to their customers. 

Final Thoughts

Fintech is one such sector that is highly changing. Evolving existing products with the changing needs is the only way to sustain and be successful in the market. In other words, customer-centricity is the only way to stay ahead of others and remain unaffected by the changing winds. 

Incorporating this approach into fintech products can boost financial inclusion, lower entry barriers, and democratize technology across the nation. As you empower customers, you enable businesses.

5