If you’re trying to figure out how to stand out in the crowded fintech industry, this article is for you:
- You’re developing an ad campaign for your fintech company.
- You’re selecting the right type of ad creative content for your ads.
- You’re looking for the most effective messaging for the fintech ad creatives.
What’s Wrong with Most Fintech Advertising?
A lot of fintech ads still feel outdated, despite being in a pretty advanced industry. It’s ironic considering the innovative products being promoted.
They struggle to attract buyers in the short-term and long-term because of 3 pitfalls.
Missing the Right Message
Many fintech ads make one of these mistakes:
- Overemphasis on features or product capabilities.
- Focus on brand identity and logos.
- Talking about the “solution” without clearly explaining the problem.
It’s not unusual to see fintech ads that don’t convey any message beyond flashy statistics or buzzwords like “AI-powered,” or “blockchain.” While these might catch the eye of an industry insider, they don’t resonate with the broader audience.
Simply put: The message should primarily address the painful problem your audience suffers from. Your solution isn’t a solution without a problem.
The Wrong Style of Communication
Let’s be honest—most fintech ads tend to be dry and overly formal, which makes them forgettable. They often focus too much on professionalism at the cost of human connection.
But here’s the thing: your buyers are humans.
Humans that watch Netflix comedies, funny videos of dogs on Instagram, and share jokes with friends.
Emotions are what trigger the brain to pay attention, remember, and share word of mouth.
There’s a reason why the all the memories from your childhood were the most emotional moments.
Your first kiss? Being yelled at by a parent? Moving to a new town?
In short: You can’t bore complete strangers into listening and remember your solution to a problem.
Using the Wrong Medium
Fintech marketing often relies heavily on technical blogs, reports, or banner ads, which simply don’t connect with today’s audiences. Given how much time people spend on visual platforms—whether it’s social media, streaming services, or video content—your fintech brand should be where your customers are.
While white papers and long-form reports are great for nurturing leads (later on in the buying journey), they don’t grab attention.
Video has the power to showcase the urgency of financial problems and the emotional payoff that comes with solving them. It communicates the value of your services faster and more memorably than static content.
While producing a video ad may seem expensive, the engagement and connection it creates can lead to lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) in the long run.
Video creatives = lower CACs
How I Chose These Fintech Video Ads
My approach wasn’t about finding the ads that scream “We’re a fintech brand!” at first glance like 98% of them.
Instead, I focused on these three criteria:
- Is the ad addressing a real financial problem that people care about?
- Is the ad engaging enough for people to watch and remember it later?
- Does the ad leave viewers feeling that they enjoyed the experience?
The best fintech ads are few and far between. And even these ads don’t get a perfect score each of the criteria. But these are the best we’ve seen.
Top 6 Best Fintech Video Ad Examples
Video Ad Example 1: NerdWallet
Why this fintech ad works:
This ad does an excellent job of not just talking about the problem, but also showing it: people are not who they say they are, and financial information can be incorrect or fraudulent. Through clever storytelling and high-arousal emotions like surprise, it keeps you paying attention.
This ad follows what we call the PESO Formula.
It starts with a specific Problem, makes it memorable with Emotion, ends with the Solution and the Outcome produced by solving it.
They nailed the messaging.
Video Ad Example 2: Gusto
Why this fintech ad works:
Humor plays a big role in this ad, making it memorable. A stranger putting her head on someone’s shoulder is a little bit…strange. But that quirkiness is what makes it funny.
It compares two seemingly tedious and boring activities, highlighting the problem with payroll compliance.
Video Ad Example 3: Lightspeed
Why this fintech ad works:
In the first 3 seconds of this ad you already know it’ll be funny, capturing the attention of viewers. And it continues to keep that attention the way the store employee speaks so quickly. In terms of engagement and memorability, this ad nailed it.
One criticism: the message here does need improvement. Like many fintech ads, it falls into the trap of listing off features without really addressing what problem it solves and why the audience should care.
Fintech Ad Example 4: Melio Payments
Why this fintech ad works:
This ad takes the emotion of surprise and anticipation and uses it to great effect. Instead of a typical commercial with the narrator speaking about the problem, the ad catches viewers off guard by showing the problem in a new, creative way, making it more engaging and memorable.
Emotion, when combined with a clear message about a specific problem, is a powerful tool for getting your brand to stand out in a cluttered market.
Fintech Ad Example 5: Paypal Everywhere
Why this fintech ad works:
Your company probably doesn’t have the budget to pay for an actor like Will Ferrell. But this production setup is actually very simple. And my oh my is this ad memorable!
Why Fintech Marketing Needs a Different Approach
Fintech marketing can’t just replicate what other industries are doing. The complexity of financial products requires a different kind of communication strategy.
1. Many Buyers Don’t Know What Problems They Have
Unlike some industries, where buyers are can become aware of their problems on their own connecting the root cause with their current pains, fintech is often dealing with non-obvious problems that aren’t immediately apparent. If your target audience doesn’t know the problem exists, then they won’t perceive your solution as valuable.
A key principle in advertising: The more visible the pain and the clearer it is that the problem causes that pain, the higher the perceived value is of your solution.
Market the problem, become the solution.
2. There’s a Huge Opportunity to Differentiate in Fintech Marketing
Many fintech ads feel like clones of each other, focusing on safe topics like “low fees” or “better security.” The opportunity? Stand out by injecting some emotion and creativity into your ads.
Humor is underutilized in this space, but it’s effective because it’s unexpected. By making your audience laugh or think in new ways about financial solutions, you increase your chances of being remembered when they’re ready to make a decision.
And although even some of these ads focused a bit too much on their features and solution, that only means there’s a bigger opportunity for your brand to focus on the specific problem that your buyers have (and that you solve).
