The challenges of promoting inclusion in Fintech with Include Inc., TreviPay and TailoredPay

The need for diversity and inclusion in fintech has become a core element of the industry and is as integral to the success of its leading players as any other form of innovation. In recognition of its rising status in the recipe for success, this month, Fintech Times will be groundbreaking for the topic through a month-long investigation into how equality is really delivered.

Fintech Times dedicates the month of April to showcasing the fintech industry’s smartest and boldest initiatives aimed at championing equality, diversity and inclusion for all.

After exploring the challenging dynamics of promoting inclusion in fintech in part one, we continue this mini-series with an equally fascinating line-up of industry experts.

Inclusion linked to business success

Leading our conversation is Dr Liz Wilsonbehavioral scientist and founder of Include Inc.a solution with a strong focus on improving team climate to drive performance.

Drawing on his industry expertise, Wilson here discusses the challenges of promoting inclusion in fintech. In this, she identifies getting senior stakeholders to buy into active and visible sponsorship and management of inclusion as a primary challenge.

Wilson develops why this is the challenge it is and cites a number of barriers to achieving this.

Firstly, she says that “Inclusion goals are not embedded in the organisation’s business goals. It is not enough to list inclusion as part of the ‘values,'” adding that “It must be a business priority tied to goals for corporate success.”

Of the other challenges in promoting inclusion, she identifies the lack of accountability among senior stakeholders to achieve inclusion goals for the organization; adding that “it has assumed that it is HR’s problem to deal with.”

To mitigate this, Wilson advises that inclusion goals “need to overlap from the organization’s goals to the performance expectations and measures of success for senior stakeholders.”

“When the CEO cares, their direct reports do too”

“The leadership of inclusion-enhancing initiatives is often left to employee resource groups (ERGs) that may exist within the organization,” she adds.

“Instead, there should be a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) council or committee chaired by the CEO with representatives from across the organization and the ERGs (if any) to ensure a strategically aligned approach is taken with clear guidance from the CEO CEO . When the CEO cares, so do their direct reports.”

“The traditional identity-specific approach to addressing inclusion means that senior stakeholders who do not identify with that ‘identity’ do not see the relevance to them.

“Getting buy-in means finding the WIIFM (what’s in it for them). Move away from addressing individual identities (eg, gender, race, LGBTQI+, disability, etc.) and instead consolidate diversity and inclusion intervention efforts with focus on the needs of all people, all identities and all intersectionality,” concludes Wilson.

She cites the ‘8 inclusion needs of all people’ as an example of this last point.

Join forces

Moving on from this, Martha Salinaswho is chief commercial officer in the global B2B fintech company TreviPaywhile also serving as executive sponsor of the company’s dedicated DEI committee, establishes the importance of “top-down inclusive” initiatives.

“Establishing a DEI committee is essential to driving cultural awareness through dialogue, education, discovery and impactful initiatives within a company and across its communities,” she affirms.

But even with such a committee in place, Salinas also acknowledges the challenge of ensuring that DEI initiatives are truly inclusive, and do not exclusively represent any one group.

This, she explains, served as a primary catalyst for the creation and development of the company’s “You Belong” initiative, which ensures that each of its employees around the world feels part of the TreviPay community.

“Sexual orientation, race, background, disability, gender, nationality and age make us who we are, and we must embrace everything our employees have to offer, in the fintech industry and beyond, because everyone belongs,” says Salinas.

“To create this culture, companies must be aware of it. It is not enough to set up policies against discrimination and for equality. It is about making every single employee feel that they belong.”

The ripple effect of inclusion

Salinas ensures, as her 26-year tenure at TreviPay shows, that such intentionality and empathy can also “shine through to customers and partners.”

“From a tactical perspective, a business commitment to linguistic diversity, and by extension the product or service combined with cultural empathy, is one way to improve the customer experience,” she continues.

“Deep loyalty is formed through positive customer experiences that can be more impactful even than competing on price. Providing customer support in a variety of languages ​​in a culturally empathetic manner is key to achieving customer loyalty, or businesses risk losing customers.”

“Recent research showed that 75 percent of customers are more likely to buy from the same company again when after-sales support is available in their own language,” adds Salinas.

So ultimately, to best promote inclusion across borders, whether it’s across employees or customers, Salinas advises that “companies must embrace differences, develop perspectives and unite strengths.”

Outside of TreviPay, Salinas is an angel investor and part of Mid-America Angel Investorswith a focus on local technology start-ups, and Women’s Capital Connectionsupport the development of women-owned businesses.

High-risk industries and challenging economic environments

While there is no doubt that the majority of fintech companies strive to improve financial inclusion, which Daniel Kroytor explains that challenging economies can make achieving this task even more difficult for startups and high-risk retailers; especially when you enter the e-commerce field.

Kroytor is the founder and director of TailoredPaywhich offers secure payment processing solutions to traditional e-commerce stores as well as businesses operating in high-risk industries.

He points to the main challenge here as the dependence of inclusive fintechs on impact investors.

“While these investors want to make a difference in the world, they still want to see some return,” Kroytor explains, adding that this can lead to conflict over the current business model, sometimes even moving the business away from the customers they applied for. serve.

“Not accepting external funding means we can take on high-risk customers and democratize entry into the e-commerce market,” he continues. “This gives us a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting new customers.”

“Although it is often necessary to seek venture capital when scaling, starting our business means we can do what is best for our customers rather than what is in the interests of investors. After all, it’s the customers who decide whether you stay in business, no matter what additional funds you secure.

“Although it also means that I take on all the financial risk, not taking on external financing means that we can offer better prices, and provide even greater value to our customers.

“And because our client list includes many businesses operating in high-risk industries, it’s an opportunity for us to help make the marketplace more accessible. It’s a more rewarding way to do business, while also differentiating our services from our competitors,” concludes Kroytor.