How localization can boost fintech

Localization is essential in global expansion for any business, and fintech is no exception. After the start of the Covid 19, the digital sector got further impetus to development. The pandemic has significantly affected consumers' lives, ultimately affecting the obsolescence of the usual interaction formats. Digital banking in 2022 was estimated to have 203 million users, projected to reach 216.8 million by 2025. And this is only a tiny part of the entire fintech industry, which includes trading, cryptocurrencies, lending, personal financial management, etc. Competition in this area is enormous, and in this article, we will describe how to get the most out of localization and overcome its challenges. 

Challenges of fintech localization

Financial technologies are a sensitive industry. They are working with private data and should accurately comply with legal regulations and provide high-class security. On the other hand, fintech should attract users through clear value propositions and the right tone of voice. Let's look at the most common challenges for the fintech industry in the new markets. 

Challenge 1. Local regulations

Starting localization, you should target countries with laws that comply with your business or are on their way to this. For example, the legal regime of cryptocurrencies varies significantly in different countries. In some, operations with cryptocurrencies are officially allowed. In other countries, they are prohibited for banks but permitted for individuals. Based on the location, the audience for services you provide can be very different, as well as the tone of voice. 

But being a perfectly translated and law-regulated company is not enough to successfully compete in a fintech market. You should provide high-quality and convenient service to rise to the top. An example, based on the Deloitte research of Digital Banking Maturity 2022, one of the best practices for account opening is auto-filling data from the photo of the document in the registration process. In different countries, that can be a passport, id card, or another document. Take care of possible errors in this process, both from the technical and linguistic side. Avoid mixing other languages in any step, but mainly on a first acquaintance to prevent the high bounce rate and distrust. So we move on to the next challenge of fintech localization.

Challenge 2. Trust 

Have you known that 40% of consumers will not buy anything from a website different from their native language? In fintech, this figure will be higher. Since the industry is closely associated with specific terms, the user will stay within linguistic thickets and choose another solution that respects his culture. Of course, you still need perfect data security, but more is required.

The "friend-or-foe" instinct still signals people about "How much can we trust this business?". Be close to your customers by translating and adapting texts with technical jargon, using the prevalent regional social media to be on the same wavelength, and improving customer experience. If users get familiar environments, familiar narratives, or visuals, they are more likely to categorize you as a "friend."

Remember cultural accuracy. For instance, the German language significantly differs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. By localizing your product for these regions, put the extra effort into linguistic nuances, not just exact translation. Moreover, the good form is to provide a multilingual interface for multi-language countries. (For instance, add Hungarian and Slovenian for Austria regions)

Challenge 3. Implementation 

Even if you're delivering a great solution to the right audience correctly, you should take care of the technical question. Ask yourself what the situation is inside the region with connection (for instance, payments using QR codes work well with 4G), what are the primary devices your users use (laptop, mobile, tablet), are IoT will be able to connect for financial data transaction and many more. Simplify the design to speed up the loading if you expect that your customers will use your solution somewhere where the connection is not good enough or overloaded.  

Challenge 4. Continuously localization

Fintech is a fast-moving industry. Therefore, there is no chance that your project will not require changes or improvements. A poor-quality translation for new features/landings or the absence of a native language version for the audience will reduce or even nullify your chances of winning the target market. In the case of a multilingual site or application, and even frequently updated, localization becomes a big challenge and requires сontinuous processes.

Using Lingohub, you can create a continuous localization process fast. With customers in mind, we have built a platform that combines all popular integrations, management tools, and features for translators. Read how Lingohub supports the global player in online payments GoCardless in our case study. 

What are Fintech companies getting with the localization?

Localization is a complex process. It requires a lot of time and money, a professional team, and the correct strategy, but it gives much more benefits. Besides the profit, we prepared a few more points to show you all the advantages.

Growth of trust and brand awareness

By conquering new markets, you gain the trust of their users and express yourself to the whole world. A financial company with successful cases of entering different markets is attractive to investors and users. For example, when Paypal entered the territory of Ukraine, there was no need for additional marketing - there already was a list of ready-for-purchase users.

Decreased bounce rates  

With localized products, non-English speaking users will stay with you more often than earlier. Moreover, your marketing team will have more audience to research, which will bring more information, ideas for further development, etc. Your behavioral metrics will grow through better user interactions, which also affects SEO.

Single source of truth for the entire team

The localization process requires constantly updating files like style guides and glossaries to keep all text in a single style. Another benefit of such documentation is that your team will know exactly how to translate specific terms or communicate with users in selected counties. That will simplify onboarding new team members for linguistics, marketing, and sales departments and bring them already prepared information about your users.

How to deal with localization challenges?

For successful localization, you need a professional team that will develop a strategy and help implement it. But to the same extent critical to building automated processes that will reduce the number of manual tasks and save the project from the human factor. And now, we will talk about the solution - a translation management system. 

How to choose "that one" TMS for your fintech product?

Take attention to integrations. 

The connection with different repositories(branches), applications, etc., saves your employees a lot of time. With the appropriate TMS, developers will not need to export and import files manually or spend time on bug fixing due to the missed tag or placeholder. 

Remember about translators. 

Linguists are one of the most significant parts of the localization team. Take a look at the CAT tools that TMS providers offer. For example, the prefill feature combined with translation memory or machine translation allows never starting localization from scratch. It unloads translators and gets them to focus on adaptation rather than translation. 

Try it yourself. 

The picture is worth a thousand words. Try the free trial to get the correct representation of the product. Work with different files, check management features, and imagine how to integrate the TMS inside your processes. 

The choice is also a challenge. That's why we at Lingohub are always on call. Book the demo or contact our team to share your needs and requirements. Let's grow together!