What A Fintech Product Manager Needs to Understand in the First 90 Days
A few weeks ago, I was honored to be one of the panelists at Tech In Asia’s Product Development Conference (PDC). Along with my colleague, Hana Abriyansyah, we talked about how to build a secure and seamless fintech product. In the panel discussion, I found an interesting topic and several questions related to what a product manager should understand in their first 90 days when they join a Fintech. I would like to share some of those tips with you.
As you are aware, Fintech is a fast developing industry. In the last few years we have seen different paradigms be it BNPL at merchant POS or QR code acceptance. These also are changes with a vast number of merchants and consumers being touched. So a product manager needs to think of creating interfaces and experiences for both sides of the table. In my opinion, a seamless and easy-to-use consumer experience that makes it super simple to make payments is the key for most fintech products. This also needs to be juxtaposed with a straightforward merchant interface. The seamless experience makes it easier for merchants to make payments, track their transactions, etc.
With a variety of payment experiences coming up every year, it is a challenge for a product manager to create a better experience by constantly optimizing the UX, the retention, and the merchant side interactions to always be on top of the game.
It’s normal for Product Managers (PM) who are new in the fintech field to have some challenges when they first start. However, looking at how we do things at Midtrans, it’s not impossible to overcome these challenges.
So, what should a PM understand in their first 90 days?
Understand the landscape
As they say, if you’re doing something no one is doing, you should check what you’re doing. Most new fintech products are replacing or mimicking another scenario that’s happening either in a different manner or elsewhere in the world. PMs should spend time understanding the landscape and who they’re up against.
Know whom you build the product for and their personas
This is usually mentioned as the first commandment for every PM and with good reasons. It is imperative to understand who you’re building the product for and understand it very deeply. PMs also need to know the persona of the consumers. Is it a 25–30 years old housewife who needs to buy groceries online? How will you optimize the experience for her? Or is it a warung owner who cares about his merchants paying via Gopay? Knowing the persona of your customers will make you focus on the problem you are trying to solve.
Lay Out the Goals and Non-goals
A major factor that I want to point out is to clearly lay out your goals and non-goals. As a PM, you might be tempted to solve all problems that may arise in the business. However, you cannot solve all of those. That’s why it’s essential to prioritize and focus on the correct problems.
Understanding business models
Understanding the existing business models in depth helps PMs define their product a lot better. As a young PM, I often defaulted to only understanding my customers better — however once you layer in a deep understanding of the business model, it helps prioritization and even building better experiences
Understanding local regulations
Developing a fintech product equals competing with other financial organizations such as banks or loan companies; the same rules also bind your company / fintech. PMs need to check the local regulations to see how the risk assessment and compliance work in a particular sector. This is a must as you want your consumers not to lose their trust in you.
Since every country is different, the PM should also understand the regulations needed to avoid any unwanted problems in the future. They should handle the regulations early before your company jumps into the game. It might look like a massive barrier at first, but once you’ve done it, it is be a smooth way afterward.
These are some of the core guidelines for building a great product and a fintech. And these are some of the key principles we imbibe in our team at Midtrans so we can deliver a reliable, secure, and seamless product to our merchants and their customers.
