From disruption to differentiation: Why product is no longer enough in FinTech

The growth backed the hype. FinTechs' revenues rose at an accelerated rate, increasing by 21% year over year in 2024, up from 13% in 2023 and outpacing the 6% growth in the broader financial services sector. 

In ASEAN, the momentum has held firm. Despite global trade fragmentation, Singapore FinTech investments surged in the first half of 2025, cementing the region's role as a resilient hub for innovation and growth.

Technology lowered barriers to entry. Traditional boundaries blurred. New entrepreneurship opportunities opened up. Consumers gained access to financial services that were once slow, opaque or difficult to obtain. 

But what happens when disruption becomes the norm?

To understand where the industry is heading, we spoke with Bryan Tay, General Manager of the Singapore FinTech Association, who believes that the rules of differentiation have changed. 

“Five years ago, the question everyone asked FinTech was, 'What did you build?’. A digital payment solution or new lending platform was often enough to attract funding, customers and attention. That was genuine white space. Today, the world looks very different.”

In a market saturated by "disruption," novelty alone no longer cuts through. When every player claims to be transforming finance, a different question starts to surface. 

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“Capability has converged. There are now hundreds of companies across payments, lending and compliance, and many are building similar technology stacks. The question has shifted from ‘can you do it?’ to ‘why should I choose you over the other fifteen companies that can also do it?’”

Bryan Tay
General Manager
Singapore FinTech Association

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The end of product as the differentiator 

FinTech still sits at the frontier of innovation. New products continue to reshape how businesses and consumers interact with financial services. 

But when similar capabilities are everywhere, innovation alone begins to lose its power to differentiate.

“Product has moved from being the differentiator to just being the entry ticket,” says Bryan. He explains this shift through the collision of three timelines that shape how FinTech companies build, launch and compete.

• Development Timeline: AI-assisted coding is accelerating how quickly products come to market. In fact, an estimated 41% of all code is now AI-generated, representing 256 billion lines written in 2024 alone.
• Regulatory Timeline: Licensing, however, hasn’t kept pace. In Singapore, a Major Payment Institution licence can take six to twelve months – sometimes up to two years – while approvals for digital payment token services are granted only in very limited circumstances.
• Market Timeline: While companies wait for regulatory approval, the market continues to move. Buyers form shortlists, competitors strengthen their narratives, and capital begins to concentrate. And with embedded finance, non-FinTech players can integrate financial services without building from scratch.

When these timelines collide, the advantage of a novel product narrows significantly. A strong product still matters, but on its own, it’s no longer enough to stand out or stay ahead.

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The commercial risk of “sameness” in FinTech 

The sea of sameness touches every sector. In FinTech, it’s becoming harder to ignore. 

As more companies develop similar capabilities, the risk of blending in the market grows. When products sound indistinguishable from one another, several commercial pressures begin to emerge. 

Funding patterns across the region reflect this shift. Fintech investment in ASEAN fell 36% in 2025, while deal volume dropped 60% to just 53 deals – the lowest level in a decade. Yet the companies that did secure capital raised much larger rounds, with average deal sizes rising 42% and 67% of funding flowing to late-stage FinTechs.

‍Investors are concentrating capital in fewer, more established companies with proven scalability and profitability. For everyone else, the bar is higher. Newer companies find it harder to stand out, attract top talent and build early momentum in the market. And when products start to look interchangeable, pressure builds across the commercial model:

• Procurement teams struggle to distinguish between vendors.
• Sales cycles stretch as additional evaluation layers are introduced.
• Pricing power erodes as solutions become increasingly commoditised. 

Many founders only realise the impact when they hit a growth ceiling. Their product is strong. Customer satisfaction scores remain high. But inbound opportunities slow, and deals take longer to close.

The shortlist reality: Why the choice is often made before the pitch

When buyers go to market, they begin with a small group of familiar names.

95% of purchases come from a day one shortlist. If a company’s name isn’t included in the list, the chances of being chosen drop dramatically. 

Bryan points to three signals that shape that initial list:

• Buyer’s familiarity. 81% of B2B buyers reach out to vendors they already know. In many cases, they’ve spoken to the eventual winner before the process formally begins. 
• Peer recommendations. Decision makers trust thought leadership more than traditional marketing. Thoughtful, consistent perspectives shape how the market understands a company and whether it comes to mind when it matters.
• Track record of credibility. In regulated markets like Singapore, credibility is built over time. A strong compliance track record, active engagement with regulators and visible participation in industry governance all signal trustworthiness.

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If buyers don’t know you, they won’t choose you 

Familiarity is one of the strongest signals shaping a buyer’s day-one shortlist. In crowded markets, recognition becomes the dividing line between being considered and being overlooked.

Bryan offers a simple way to define a brand: “Brand is whether the market can explain what makes you different without you being in the room.” It’s a useful test. Because if customers, partners or investors can’t articulate why you matter, your product may never even be evaluated.

So what does it take to be remembered?

The companies pulling ahead are doing more than building technology. They’re defining what they stand for, contributing to industry conversations and showing up with a distinct point of view.

Trust is earned

FinTech operates in one of the most trust-sensitive sectors of the economy. Companies are responsible for managing money, data and regulatory compliance within tightly governed systems.

“Trust is earned,” Bryan says. “You can claim it, but the market will verify.” 

Today, 79% of consumers now say they’re comfortable using FinTech platforms, compared with 87% who trust national banks. While the narrowing trust gap marks a positive shift in perception, it also points to evolving expectations that reach far beyond product features.

Source: The Fintech Effect 2023: Consumer insights reveal growth opportunities ahead from Plaid

In highly connected ecosystems like Singapore, credibility is built over time through visible participation. Engaging with regulators. Contributing to working groups. Publishing research. Showing up consistently. Together, these actions form a trust infrastructure, one that shapes how companies are perceived by buyers, partners and investors long before a sales conversation begins.

A new playbook for FinTech founders

In a market where product is no longer enough, growth depends on how you’re understood. Bryan offers three practical tips for navigating an increasingly crowded market: 

• Communicate a clear point of view. Don’t just describe what you do. Take a position. Share your perspective on regulation, where the industry is heading, and what others might be missing. Clear viewpoints are what get shared, remembered and repeated. 
• Measure what the market knows about you. Visibility matters. Track signals like direct traffic, inbound enquiries, brand mentions and share of search. If customer satisfaction is high but your pipeline is thin, the issue may not be your product; it may be awareness.
• Treat trust as a product.  Build trust deliberately with the same discipline used to build technology. Compliance, regulatory engagement, published research and active participation in the ecosystem all contribute to long-term credibility.

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“Stop assuming your product will speak for itself,” Bryan says. Product excellence may have been the entry ticket, but it’s no longer the sole driver of growth.