FinTechs must make money mobility a top priority if they want to woo consumers away from traditional banks. While PYMNTS Intelligence’s data confirms FinTechs have made progress in meeting consumer expectations around instant payments, there is still room for improvement.
In “FinTechs’ Instant Payment Mismatch,” a collaboration with Ingo Payments, we found that 47% of FinTechs enabled consumers to send peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers while 41% allow them to receive these transfers — increases of 10 percentage points for sending and 9 percentage points for receiving between Q3 2022 and Q2 2023.
This progression is great news for FinTechs because data shows P2P transfers rank as the number one service consumers expect when using a FinTech provider. However, the report — which is based on surveys with nearly 2,300 U.S. consumers and 150 FinTech issuers — also found that FinTechs would benefit by better aligning their services to the needs of their customers.
While consumers are more likely to use FinTech providers that offer a wide array of fund transfer options and fast transactions, FinTechs tout convenience and customer experience as their top features. This could spell trouble if FinTechs don’t change course.
This is not to suggest FinTechs aren’t making headway. As the chart below illustrates, FinTechs have adjusted the menu of the services they provide according to what their customers use.
As mentioned, 47% of FinTechs enable sending P2P payments and 41% permit receiving them. Because those functions are top priorities for consumers, it’s understandable that 51% of consumers are now sending P2P payments while 44% receive them.
In contrast, FinTech issuers have scaled back on services their customers don’t use. For example, 2.5% of consumers said they used a FinTech’s financial consultancy. This could explain the decrease from 48% in Q3 2022 to 41% in Q2 2023 in FinTechs offering this service.
Data confirms FinTech issuers are pivoting to meet consumer demand. Despite advances, providers seem to misunderstand what consumers really want. PYMNTS Intelligence found that not only do consumers want access to a wide variety of payment options, but they also expect prompt availability of good funds. Yet many FinTechs continue to extoll convenience and customer experience as their differentiators.
FinTechs that correct such missteps and better align their features with what their customers are really looking for will most likely be those ones that continue to gain market traction.
