How to Hire a Fintech Website Agency That Understands Compliance

Building a website today is a complex matter, and it’s even harder to create a fintech website that’s fully compliant and properly optimised for high ROI. Marketing teams of fintech companies often struggle to scale their websites. 

One of the main reasons are compliance issues, which typically stem from unclear website structures and problematic integrations. However, that’s not all, they often use outdated CMS platforms, which tend to lead to complicated designs, bad user experiences, and slow load times, all of which contribute to poorly performing websites. 

To build user trust, you need to address or avoid these issues altogether. Staying compliant is essential, and it’s also a legal requirement. That’s precisely why you need to focus on a good fintech website agency that understands compliance. In this article, we’ll focus on what you need to do to find and hire the right type of fintech website agency. 

Importance of Fintech Website Compliance

Fintech companies and their websites must follow a lengthy list of regulatory requirements in the US, EU, and most developed countries. These regulations are in place to protect consumers, their data, and their safety and privacy, among others. 

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) has a global reach and covers the fintech industry's acceptance, storage, and processing of payment data. To comply with this standard, websites must have established security measures and utilize verified systems and apps. 

Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations also have a global reach and apply to all fintech websites that deal with payments, online banking, and cryptocurrencies. AML/CFT requires websites to maintain records of transactions, address identified risks, monitor transactions and payment activities, and perform other related tasks. 

Staying compliant with these regulations and all others that apply to your specific fintech niche is a legal requirement. If your website fails to adhere to them, the risks include fines, loss of client trust, damage to your brand reputation, and more. 

Although these can be the most detrimental hits to a fintech company, fines can also be destructive. For example, Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, had to pay $4.3 billion in fines and penalties for failing to comply with AML rules fully. 

The easiest way to stay compliant with all of these regulations is to hire a reputable fintech website agency to design and optimize your website in a fully compliant way.

Most Important Qualities of a Compliant-Savvy Fintech Website Agency

A fintech website agency that knows compliance has several important qualities you should look into to determine that the firm is indeed competent to solve your problems and create a compliant and fully optimized website. 

• High focus on UX and legality: A good fintech website agency knows how to handle user experience and balance great and user-friendly design with all the necessary legal disclaimers and privacy policies. 
• Deep industry knowledge: The agency’s team can’t solely be proficient in design and how to make the site compliant. They also need to have deep industry knowledge so they can actually create a site tailored to your niche, filled with small details, like specific UI design choices that align with user preferences. 
• Complete technical mastery in security: The agency needs to be skilled in incorporating the proper security protocols on your site. Features such as SSL certificates, secure payment gateways, two-factor authentication, encryption, and anti-fraud systems are essential for a fintech site. They also need to have key positions, so proper fintech website architecture is crucial. 

How to Vet a Fintech Website Design Agency

Start the process by establishing your budget so you can focus on the agencies that charge the amounts you’re willing to spend. And no, you shouldn’t focus on agencies that charge the least, as they are unlikely to do a proper job since fintech website firms typically charge more than standard website design agencies. 

When vetting a fintech website company, you shouldn’t focus solely on the looks of the sites they’ve created. Good design doesn’t always equate to good performance, and it certainly doesn’t always ensure proper compliance. 

Moreover, you really should take your time with research. Don’t take shortcuts because you’re tired of the analysis. The journey will be worth it in the end as you’ll cover all the nooks and crannies. 

And when it comes to research, here’s what to focus on.

Experience With Fintech Sites and Expertise

The first key consideration is whether the agency has experience with sites like yours. Fintech is a big industry covering many sub-sectors, so the more diverse the sites the agency has made, the better. 

To establish this, look at the company’s portfolio to see the brands it has worked with. Check what they did for them and take a look at the case studies that give some actual numbers, which will provide you with a better understanding of what they can do for you. 

Moreover, you should also look into client testimonials on the agency’s site, as well as on third-party websites like Clutch. 

User-Centric Approach to Design

Superb usability is a must for fintech sites. With so much worry over compliance and proper design choices, the site can become cumbersome to use, which is why the agency you’re considering should know how to develop a site that exists for the user. 

Open up a few sites they’ve worked on and browse them from the user’s perspective to see how they feel. Look for signs of simplified complexity because it shows they know how to make a complex website feel easy to use.

Ask the Right Questions

Once you finally get to the point of contacting the agency you’re vetting, you’ll need to know which questions to ask. It’s best to have this prepared to properly cover everything. 

You’ll need to work on those questions on your own, of course, but here are a few suggestions that could prove useful:

• What process do you use to ensure a site is compliant? 
• How do you stay on top of the latest regulatory changes and fintech trends?
• Do you have an in-house team or do you outsource the work?
• How will you work with our legal or compliance team?
• How does your project management process work? How often will we get updates?
• What approach do you use to properly balance compliance and security with UX?
• Which CMS do you use, and does it work well on a fintech site?
• Do you offer post-launch support and site maintenance, and if so, what type?

Check the Agency’s Level of Transparency and Communication Quality

Every website design agency should be transparent about the process they use and how they’ll approach your site. More than that, its team members should be open to communicating the process with you and explaining complex technical details whenever you need them to. 

This is something that’s easiest to check during the initial talk with the agency. The previous section already mentioned some of the questions you can use to determine this. 

You can also ask them how they handle issues and changes that may arise during the process. It’s also good to ask them about the tools they use for communication and project management. 

Is Flow Ninja the Fintech Website Agency the Right Fit for You?

Ensuring compliance is not just a legal obligation for a fintech website, but also the key to building trust and keeping your brand’s reputation spotless. On top of that, the risks of non-compliance are too severe to ignore, which is why it’s crucial to partner with a quality website agency that specializes in fintech sites. 

Flow Ninja is precisely that. We have extensive experience with fintech businesses, and we understand precisely what needs to be done to ensure full compliance. More than that, we know how to balance compliance with excellent design that’s both user-friendly and fully optimized for high ROI. 

If you’re ready to begin this journey with us, feel free to schedule a call with us, and don’t hesitate to ask as many questions as you need to!

FAQ about Hiring a Compliant Website Agency