By Ross Buckley and Sarah Webster

Forthcoming Vol 44 Journal of Financial Transformation

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A customers’ journey is the path the customer travels to satisfy their needs and wants and will typically consist of several separate processes. FinTech product and service developers in advanced economies often understand how difficult many customers find their journey with banks and have been able the make the journey more pleasant and seamless. They are aided in this by their personal similarities to their customers in terms of background, education, and technological literacy. However, these similarities don’t exist when products and services are being designed for customers in developing countries. In these markets, product designers need to rely on an evidence-based assessment of customer needs and wants, which will usually have to be specially commissioned, coupled, ideally, with visiting local villages and speaking to the local people who will be the potential customers for the products and services. The failure to appreciate the nuances of local customer journeys underlies many of the FinTech failures in the developing world.