Top recommendations for designing successful fintech products: prioritize building trust, focus on joy, don't ask for too much information too quickly, don't add too much functionality, be as niche as possible.

Fintech products have become increasingly popular in recent years, but designing them can be challenging.

Here are our top five recommendations for founders and product designers based on our experience designing fintech products and supporting fintech startups.

Design for trust

One of the biggest challenges facing fintech products is building trust with users.

Security breaches, selling of data, and a perception of being a capitalistic predator can all damage trust.

To overcome this, fintech products should prioritize building trust by addressing these concerns directly and transparently.

Focus on joy

Many financial apps are boring and feel robotic and clinical.

To avoid this, fintech products should focus on bringing joy to their users.

This can be accomplished by making the app feel more human through micro-interactions that give feedback.

Also it is important to integrate customer support as an internal feature that is accessible in the app instead of having to jump into an external experience to get support.

Don’t ask for too much information too quickly

Users are more likely to trust a fintech product that doesn't ask for too much information too quickly.

Long user flows and requests for too much information can be overwhelming and make users suspicious.

Instead, fintech products should strive to provide value and build trust over time.

Don’t add too much functionality

Many fintech products try to do too much, which can be expensive, slow to market, and overwhelming for users.

Instead, fintech products should focus on providing value through a limited set of features.

We recommend what we call the “expanding app,” where features are unlocked through user actions or in settings, abiding by the user's intention.

Be as niche as possible

Successful fintech brands are often built through niches because they focus on trust and unbundled value.

Brands are becoming financial centers for users, and there's a lesson to learn from this.

By focusing on a specific niche, fintech products can build trust and provide value to users in a more targeted way.

Designing fintech products requires a balance of functionality, design, and trust-building. By following these recommendations, founders and product designers can create products that are both useful and enjoyable for their users.