Fintech is cool. Storytelling around it is nice. But storytelling with return is even better.
This should be our premise.
A finely crafted narrative attracts attention. A narrative grounded in performance and monetary potential builds trust – and value.
In boardrooms, the question is no longer “What’s our story?” but “What’s our story worth?” When narrative meets measurable business outcomes, it stops being marketing fluff and becomes a growth asset.
Consider the risks. In an industry where milliseconds matter and regulatory shifts can change market dynamics overnight, reputation is not a soft metric – it’s a tangible asset on the balance sheet.
We’ve all seen brands relying on glossy communications to win traction. But in fintech, if the story lacks foundation, trust erodes.
One misstep – unclear disclosures, overpromising, or regulatory friction – and confidence collapses. Customers abandon the platform, investors question governance, and regulators intensify scrutiny. The fallout hits reputation first but quickly translates into financial loss.
Executives who underestimate this often discover too late that the cost of reputational repair far exceeds the cost of prevention.
What’s the right approach then?
In the end, fintech is all about trust. Therefore, reputation strategy must precede storytelling. Subsequent communications need to be systemic, structured, and measured for impact.
Let’s draw an analogy from another area of finance and another discipline.
Systematic approach to success
Mahidhar and Davenport point out (HBR, 6/2025) that private equity firms embedding AI via a systematic process into operations, products, and commercial processes secure measurable value creation. They execute a plan rather than experiment with ideas.
That structural alignment is exactly the mindset needed for reputation building in fintech. A reputation strategy frames communications in three fundamentals:
First, trust is the product. Customers and investors buy perception. Marketing communications need to broadcast reliability, operational resilience and regulatory awareness – not just product innovation.
Second, strategy now, storytelling later. The narrative must reflect business objectives and vision. “Show me the money”, said Rod (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Jerry McGuire’s (Tom Cruise) manager in the 1996 film of the same name.
The principle is sound.
Third, think compliance aware creativity. A fintech may operate in an area where regulation is still in development. Consider its direction and apply messaging that is creative and cool, yet accurate, assertive yet compliant, and persuasive yet truthful.
In the eyes of society, fintech represents the institution of finance. Cicero said on institutional (in this case, law) trust, “For the foundation of justice, moreover, is good faith – that is, truth and fidelity to promises and agreements.”
An engineer’s approach to reputation
A reputation-first strategy attracts capital, supports regulatory compliance, and eventually increases enterprise value. Done poorly, storytelling turns into a liability; done right, it provides strategic leverage.
One way to look at reputation building in fintech is as deliberate trust engineering. Systems, protocols and careful messaging designed to establish, maintain and increase stakeholder trust.
Enterprises practising disciplined reputation building will reap the benefits. It’s a conscious effort that takes time, work and financial resources. The winners apply simple fundamentals:
- No investment, no return.
- No strategy, no story.
- No execution, no results
You will benefit from a reputation strategy grounded in business fundamentals, applied with the principle of trust engineering, and executed with compliance-aware storytelling.
Why not turn reputation into a powerful strategic business lever now?
And oh, just in case we think AI will soon solve the questions raised in this post, it won’t. The capabilities of large language models are still far from devising and running an enterprise’s reputation strategy to any significant degree.
Please read more on the share of duties between AI and people in our Insight Track 2025 report.
