Here’s a harsh truth: fintech comms is playing it painfully safe right now. Scroll through any press release, LinkedIn post, or ESG update and you’ll find the same cautious tone, recycled language and more worryingly, what I suspect is strategic silence.
It’s not that comms teams don’t care, it’s that many feel paralysed by a fear of saying the wrong thing and becoming a headline for the wrong reasons. This fear of stepping outside the ever-narrowing lines of ‘safe’ corporate storytelling is holding brands back in a sector where standing out can mean the difference between success and failure.
As someone who works with fintech leaders every day, I get it. The stakes are high. Reputation can shift overnight. But the fact is that fear doesn’t build trust, clarity does.
From ESG to DEI to AI, fintechs are falling into the trap of risk-averse comms that sound more like compliance checklists than leadership. The brands that cut through are not the ones whispering carefully-worded nothings, they’re the ones showing up with a clear point of view.
Why saying nothing isn’t the safe option
In today’s climate, silence is not neutral; it signals indecision, a lack of leadership, or fear. When fintech brands default to generic, compliance-led messaging, they don’t just blend into the background, they lose trust, relevance, and resonance with the very audiences they aim to serve.
Yet I still see too many fintechs trapped in reactive comms cycles of waiting for permission, avoiding nuance, and clinging to sameness. This fear-driven model may feel like safety, but it’s actually a huge risk.
For fintechs, trust is not a nice-to-have; it’s existential. Trust isn’t built through absence, but through consistent, values-led clarity. Brands that avoid having a point of view, especially on topics that matter to their teams, customers, and stakeholders, are increasingly seen as out of touch or unprepared.
And with AI, ESG scrutiny, a rise in the regularity of security breaches and regulatory change reshaping the financial landscape, fintechs can’t afford to keep quiet. Believe me, under the radar is not where you want to be.
From caution to courage
It’s time for fintech communicators to shift from fear to forward motion. Don’t misunderstand me, this doesn’t mean courting controversy or being performative. It means leading with a real point of view, not lip service. It means embracing nuance, storytelling, and substance, even when the topics are tough.
The fintechs that thrive next won’t be the quietest. They’ll be the ones who communicate with courage, transparency, and purpose.
Here are a few dos and don’ts I recommend to our fintech clients:
DON’T:
- Default to crisis silence: Saying nothing during tense moments invites speculation and damages trust.
- Stick to generic ESG/DEI statements: If your messaging could be copy-pasted across 20 other fintechs, it’s not working.
- Treat communication as risk mitigation only: This reduces your brand to a legal footnote.
DO:
- Build narrative assets proactively: Develop core stories around your mission, impact, and leadership POV – before you need them.
- Speak with specificity: Use real data, real stories, and real voices from your organisation.
- Prepare for pushback: Courageous comms requires internal alignment, training and scenario planning.
- Lead internally before externally: If your team doesn’t believe in the message, your audience won’t either.
Takeaways for comms teams
In an environment shaped by uncertainty and accelerated change, communication teams have a powerful role to play – not just in managing perception, but in leading with purpose. It starts with a hard look at your messaging: Is it courageous and clear, or treading on eggshells? What’s not being said that your audience needs to hear?
Purpose-led storytelling is no longer optional. In fact, studies show that it can increase brand value by 175 per cent over 12 years, compared to 70 per cent for brands without a defined purpose. So, empower your spokespeople – especially executives and team leads – to speak with authenticity, even when the issues are complex or evolving. A well-prepared voice can cut through the noise and establish trust when it matters most.
Ambiguity, whether in the form of regulatory changes, market fluctuations, or emerging technologies, isn’t just something to navigate, it’s an opening. The teams that treat these moments as chances to lead with insight, rather than retreat, position their organisations for relevance.
But bold communication doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a skill that can, and should, be strengthened. Build your ‘courage muscle’ by embedding rituals into your workflow: editorial debates, message testing sessions, or even post-mortems on communications that fell flat.
Finally, reframe how your organisation views communications and see it for the strategic asset it is. Your voice is a trust engine, and in times of disruption, that trust is one of the most resilient currencies you have.
Fintech is a sector built on disruption and bold ideas, so let’s stop letting fear strip the voice out of the story. In a world where sameness feels safe but fades fast, the real risk isn’t saying the wrong thing, it’s saying nothing and becoming invisible.
