The fintech company is "stepping up its marketing efforts" to attract a wider consumer market.

Whether on the subway, at the airport gate, or waiting for a bus, there is always a kind of advertisement that is becoming increasingly hard to ignore: from credit cards to online payment platforms to digital banks, all are promoting technology-based financial services. Financial technology companies are increasing their marketing efforts in major metropolitan centers such as New York, San Francisco, and London, focusing on attracting a wider consumer base. Data from advertising company Outfront Media Inc. shows that over the past three years, financial technology ad spending has increased by an average of over 45% year on year. The company's clients include financial technology companies such as Mercury, Brex, inter&co., Klarna, CashApp, PayPal, and Venmo. As spending increases, financial technology, from payment companies to so-called neobanks, is becoming increasingly popular among everyday users, not just among founders and venture capitalists creating the high-tech future of financial infrastructure. They are reaching a level of maturity where they can not only expand their customer base and product lines but also prepare for potential initial public offerings (IPOs) or acquisitions. Jeff Titterton, Chief Marketing Officer of payment company Stripe Inc., said, "Financial technology companies have always been closely related to digital native companies." Stripe Inc., founded by now billionaires Patrick Collison and John Collison in 2010, ventured into brand advertising for the first time last year. "But what we are seeing now is that their reach is expanding. Their target market is continuing to grow, which is why you would see us appearing in places we may not have appeared before." Financial technology company Brex, known for its corporate credit cards and expense management capabilities, is no stranger to outdoor marketing strategies, having launched billboard campaigns since its founding in 2017. However, the San Francisco-based company said its outdoor advertising spending has been growing by 30% year on year, and recently shifted its focus from serving startups to serving enterprises in different sectors and sizes. Scott Holden, Chief Marketing Officer at Brex, who joined the company in 2023, said, "Before I joined Brex, the company had never specifically targeted enterprise audiences with outdoor campaigns. We were very focused on using this medium to sell our business cards to startups. Since I joined, the company launched our outdoor advertising service, positioning Brex as a unified consumer platform." Similarly, digital banking platform Mercury, founded in the same year as Brex, has expanded its messaging to market the company as more than just providing bank software for enterprises. In April 2024, Mercury launched a new consumer banking product called Mercury Personal for founders and investors, offering advanced digital banking tools such as free transfers and the use of multiple debit cards. Heather MacKinnon, Mercury's Brand Director, said, "For the first few years, we focused on communicating that Mercury is the bank for startups." But in 2024, "the goal was to reposition Mercury as not just a bank account but one that connects the company with banking and financial software." Mercury's 2024 ad campaign uses slogans such as "Banks should do more, and now they can" and "Powerful banking, simplified finances." This is in stark contrast to the ads targeting startups from a year ago, highlighting "the financial foundation on which startups rely" and "how 100,000 startups manage their funds." As financial technology companies strive to attract more mass market consumers, many companies are facing increasing scrutiny, especially in areas such as banking partnerships, compliance, and customer deception involving hidden fees. Last year, one of the largest fintech intermediaries, Synapse Financial Technologies Inc., went bankrupt, causing problems for companies that had transferred funds to banks through the now-bankrupt company, and drawing regulatory attention to the industry. Mercury, which sued Synapse in 2023, is also under scrutiny for allowing foreign companies to open accounts through one of its banking partners, Choice Bank. However, with a more friendly regulatory environment following Donald Trump's reelection, all of this could change. Swedish fintech giant Klarna Bank AB announced its plans to go public in the first half of this year in New York, igniting hopes within the industry that the long drought of fintech IPOs might come to an end. A successful IPO could inspire other companies in the industry looking to follow suit. Marketing executives are taking note of this. Holden of Brex said, "If a company's product relies heavily on brand recognition, the company will do extensive advertising." "Brand recognition can quickly customer acquisition, which is definitely the case for us."