We often explore how fintechs are changing the banking and payments landscapes, and sometimes look into how their solutions are supporting financial inclusion and helping people develop healthy financial habits. But to kick off 2025, we’re placing a focus on ‘fintech for good’ to find out exactly how much impact fintechs are having – both positively and negatively.
Whenever we look into different fintech sub-topics, the conversation often boils down to innovation, disruption and growth. To kick off our ‘fintech for good’ focus this month, we explored the importance of fintechs driving meaningful social impact.
As the industry matures, more and more fintechs are showing off how they’re doing their part to support industry or customer inclusion, combatting climate change, or other initiatives that aren’t fully focused on profit.
With this in mind, we reached out to industry experts to ask them exactly what it is that sets a true ‘fintech for good’ apart from the rest.
Evidence of genuine social impact
“We believe what truly sets a ‘fintech for good’ company apart from the rest is where an inherent commitment to inclusivity and diversity can be demonstrated – they must walk the talk with clear, tangible evidence of actions and initiatives that will have a genuine social impact,” explains Miranda McLean, CMO at inclusive payments platform Ecommpay.
“For example, most websites were not originally designed to cater to those with visual, hearing, movement or mental impairments, leaving many people excluded from using these websites and accessing the service they provide. Yet the wider market for people with disabilities is estimated to be worth £274billion in the UK alone, and $1.9trillion globally. And research has found that making a website more accessible can drive 23 to 24 per cent more traffic.
“To turn the tide and deliver a truly accessible website, businesses need to understand and implement a range of best practices and clear guidelines. Of course, it is not as simple as creating a new accessible website and sitting back to admire the work. This is an ongoing task requiring continual reviews, updates and improvements to utilise the latest insights and technology available.”
Building and maintaining trust
Judy Bloch, VP, industry executive advisor for financial services at customer and employee experience experts Medallia, explains: “Money – and our assets – are inherently personal. They require a foundation of trust, where fintech providers must demonstrate they know their customers, beyond regulatory requirements.
“A ‘fintech for good’ company is one that seeks to establish and maintain trust with its customers and business partners, creating mutually beneficial outcomes. This requires the fintech provider to act with transparency, driving accountability for both the customer and employee experience throughout the organisation. This will continue to be true, especially as we look forward to what might be significant changes to our economy.
“In extreme cases, broken trust and bad experiences may lead to a customer no longer using a fintech’s product or services. Generally speaking, customers understand individual missteps and are willing to forgive and forget. This assumes the issue is ultimately resolved, approached with care and empathy, and doesn’t become a regular occurrence. This is one reason why following up on customer feedback is so critical – it demonstrates the brand is listening, cares about the customer’s concern and is willing to resolve any pain points.”
Protecting the vulnerable and underbanked
For Steve Round, president and co-founder of core banking platform SaaScada, the ‘fintechs for good’ of today must focus on inclusivity.
“In today’s economic climate, financial services firms that want to deliver positive social change must focus on protecting vulnerable customers and improving financial access for underbanked communities.
“A true ‘fintech for good’ will offer first-class products to every member of society – and become an instinctive organisation that adapts to the needs of its customers – something that’s well within their grasp with the right technology and data. Customers who don’t meet single-metric measures of eligibility in traditional banks deserve access to quality financial services, rather than being segregated and forced to use second-class products.
“Firms must tap into the wealth of customer data available, including looking at alternative metrics that don’t currently build a credit history. For instance, in the UK, rental payment history is not used to assess a consumer’s suitability for mortgages. You can pay your rent on time for 10 years, but right now this information is not being acknowledged by banks and credit reference agencies – if FS institutions can monitor international financial history, why can’t they do more domestically?”
Providing fair and accessible services
Katherine Maslova, founding member and CBDO of Bourgeois Bohème, a fintech platform bridging the tech gap between traditional private banks, financial advisors, and the digital-first generation, also shares her thoughts.
“In finance, doing good means providing fair and accessible services that help people improve their financial health. An example is teaching younger generations how to responsibly manage their money and work towards long-term financial stability, all while steering clear of harmful habits like overspending and falling for get-rich-quick schemes.
“This has further positive implications, such as avoiding excessive consumption, high debt ratios, and speculative investments. For many people, this is life-changing, as they cannot afford these added expenses or potential losses.
“From a broader, societal lens, ‘fintech for good’ involves spearheading initiatives that go beyond profit and benefit society. For instance, clear communication and fair pricing are a must. Additionally, fintechs can promote financial literacy, endorse sustainable digital practices that help close accessibility gaps, address underserved communities, and support meaningful charitable initiatives that help those in need.”
Prioritising long-term benefits for society over short-term profits
“Fintechs for good prioritise long-term benefits for society over short-term profits,” explains Raman Korneu, CEO and co-founder at myTU, the Lithuania-based mobile banking app.
“They develop products that genuinely solve real-world problems rather than simply monetising trends. Like for example, superficial AI implementations that are often limited to basic functionalities, misleading clients about the capabilities of the services offered.
“There is even a term already for this practice – ‘AI washing’. Similar to greenwashing, where companies falsely claim environmental sustainability, AI washing exploits the growing hype around AI to gain competitive and investor trust.
“Examples of AI washing in the financial sector may include marketing chatbots with basic FAQ functionalities as sophisticated AI advisors or firms branding generic fraud detection systems as revolutionary predictive analytics tools. Such practices mislead customers and undermine trust in fintech innovation. In contrast, truly ethical fintechs emphasise transparency, meaningful AI integrations, and measurable positive impacts on society.”
Ensuring empathy
Shreenath Regunathan, co-founder of Starlight, an embedded platform that helps financial institutions improve their users’ financial health, adds: “A genuine ‘fintech for good’ combines technological innovation with deep empathy for customer challenges.
“First, these companies identify structural gaps in financial access and build scalable solutions. At Starlight, we recognised that over $140billion in government benefits goes unclaimed annually, not due to lack of eligibility but because of complex application processes and awareness gaps. True fintech innovation means bridging these systemic barriers through technology.
“Second, they align business incentives with customer success. Rather than pursuing short-term metrics, these companies measure success through sustained improvements in customer financial health. Our work shows that when financial institutions help customers access benefits and build stability, they see increased engagement and loyalty. Finally, they invest in rigorous impact measurement and continuous improvement, tracking real outcomes in customers’ financial lives. This data-driven approach ensures that innovation truly serves customer needs while building sustainable business value.”
Needing a clear mission
For Brad Pennington, president of financial products at PayJoy, a top financial service provider to the underserved in emerging markets, a true ‘fintech for good’ requires “a clear definition of what doing good means”.
Pennington continues: “What is your mission? Willingness to invest in that mission on a standalone basis even if profit-maximisation would have produced a different decision. If you don’t know what doing good means, you can’t do good. If doing good doesn’t cause you to make different decisions. Then are you really doing good?”
Amit Ghole, founder of Inflooens, a point-of-sale and broker loan origination system, also appears to believe in this sentiment: “Purpose is the key differentiator. Bootstrapping Inflooens taught me that money alone can’t sustain a long-term vision.
“A clear mission — making homeownership simpler and more accessible while empowering lenders — fuels our commitment. Borrowing to buy a home should be a proud milestone, not an invasive ordeal. A ‘fintech for good’ transcends transactions, delivering solutions that genuinely transform lives and remain connected to a larger ‘why'”.
