Banking
& Fintech
Banking
& Fintech
Financial decisions are among the most important decisions consumers make. Whether choosing a bank, a digital wallet, a payment solution, an investment platform, or a fintech service, people evaluate far more than products and pricing. Products are often complex, decisions carry real consequences, and the emotional dimension of financial choice plays a larger role than rational comparison alone.
At the same time, digital transformation continues to reshape how consumers interact with financial services, creating new expectations, new competitive pressures, and new research questions that traditional methods alone are not always equipped to answer.
At Signal & Noise, we combine quantitative research, qualitative exploration, and behavioral neuroscience to help banking and fintech organizations understand how consumers evaluate, choose, adopt, and remain loyal to financial products and services across the full customer journey.
The Banking & Fintech challenge
For traditional banks, the central challenge is retaining relevance and trust in a market where digital challengers are raising the bar on experience and transparency. Consumers, particularly younger segments, are increasingly open to switching, and loyalty that once felt structural is becoming more conditional.
For fintech players, the challenge is almost the opposite: building credibility and trust without the heritage that traditional institutions rely on. Adoption requires overcoming skepticism, communicating complex propositions clearly, and creating experiences that feel both innovative and secure.
Across both, trust alone is no longer enough. Consumers increasingly compare providers based on convenience, usability, transparency, personalization, and overall experience. And small moments of friction can have significant consequences for acquisition, retention, and long-term customer value.
That creates important business questions:
Which creative actually captures attention first?
- What drives trust and confidence in financial brands and what erodes it?
- Why do customers choose one provider over another?
- What barriers prevent adoption of new financial products and services?
- How do customers evaluate digital experiences and where does friction emerge?
- What drives retention, loyalty, and advocacy over time?
- Which communication messages resonate most strongly and which create confusion?
- How are new financial formats reshaping consumer expectations and behavior?
In financial services, the institutions that understand their consumers most accurately build the strongest and most durable relationships.
Trends Shaping & Advertising Media
The financial landscape is evolving rapidly. Understanding how consumers respond to these changes is increasingly important for sustainable growth.
GLOBAL TRENDS
Digital-First Banking
Neobanks and digital challengers continue to redefine what consumers expect from financial services, in speed, transparency, convenience, and user experience.
Traditional banks face a growing challenge: competing on experience, not just on trust and heritage.
Research question: How are digital-first experiences reshaping customer expectations and loyalty and where does your institution stand in consumers’ minds?
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
Alternative payment and financing models are reshaping consumer credit behavior, particularly among younger audiences. BNPL products are changing how consumers perceive debt, value, and financial commitment.
Research question: What drives adoption, trust, and long-term usage of BNPL and what are the risks to consumer financial behavior that institutions need to understand?
Embedded Finance
Financial services are increasingly appearing outside traditional banking environments, integrated into retail, e-commerce, mobility, and other non-financial platforms. This creates both new opportunities and new trust challenges.
Research question: How do consumers respond when financial services appear outside traditional banking contexts and what builds or limits trust in embedded financial products?
AI & Financial Advice
Artificial intelligence is beginning to influence financial decisions, from personalized product recommendations to automated advice and risk assessment. Consumer comfort with AI-assisted financial services varies significantly by age, trust level, and financial literacy.
Research question: How comfortable are consumers with AI-assisted financial recommendations and what transparency, control, and explanation factors build or limit that comfort?
Subscription-Based Financial Services
Recurring financial products and premium service models are creating new expectations around value, commitment, and long-term engagement. Consumers evaluate subscription financial services differently from traditional products, perceived value and ease of cancellation are key.
Research question: What creates perceived value and reduces cancellation risk in recurring financial products and how does this differ across consumer segments?
ROMANIA-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES
Neobank Competition
Romania is Revolut’s second-largest retail market globally, with over 5 million users. In December 2024, Revolut obtained a full banking license in Romania, marking a significant escalation in competitive pressure on traditional banks. The question is no longer whether digital challengers are relevant in Romania, but how quickly they are reshaping consumer expectations.
Research question: How are Romanian consumers evaluating traditional banks versus digital challengers and what experience, trust, and value gaps are emerging?
Cash Dependency & Digital Adoption
Romania has one of the highest rates of cash usage in the EU, and a significant urban-rural divide in digital banking adoption. The transition to digital payments and banking requires behavior change. And behavior change requires understanding the barriers, trust gaps, and motivation drivers specific to Romanian consumers.
Research question: What are the real barriers to digital banking adoption among Romanian consumers and what trust signals and experience factors accelerate the transition?
Financial Inclusion
A significant portion of the Romanian population remains under-banked or financially excluded particularly in rural areas. This represents both a challenge and a major growth opportunity for banking and fintech players willing to invest in understanding and serving these segments.
Research question: What are the unmet financial needs, barriers, and trust factors that shape financial product adoption among under-served Romanian consumer segments?
Financial Literacy & Product Understanding
Many Romanian consumers continue to struggle with understanding financial products, fees, credit conditions, and investment options. Clear, honest communication is increasingly a competitive advantage. Institutions that help consumers understand what they are signing up for build stronger, more loyal relationships.
Research question: What do Romanian consumers actually understand about your products, fees, and conditions and where do comprehension gaps create dissatisfaction, complaints, or early churn?
Price Sensitivity & Economic Uncertainty
Inflation, rising interest rates, and economic uncertainty continue to shape how Romanian consumers borrow, save, invest, and make financial decisions. With nearly half of Romanian households reporting financial pressure in 2026, price sensitivity has become a central factor in product evaluation and switching decisions.
Research question: How is economic uncertainty affecting your customers’ financial decisions, product preferences, and loyalty and what reassurance, value, and communication signals matter most right now?
Fraud, Scams & Consumer Trust
In Romania, phishing scams targeting both consumers and businesses are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using AI-generated content, deepfake voice impersonation, and fake banking websites. Fraud doesn’t just create direct financial losses. It erodes consumer trust in digital banking broadly.
Research question: How does fraud exposure and awareness affect consumer trust in digital financial services and what communication and security signals rebuild confidence after a fraud event?
Contact us at the Consulting WP office nearest to you or submit a business inquiry online.
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✓ 15+ years in research
✓ Qual, Quant & Neuroscience
✓ In-Lab & Remote capabilities
✓ ESOMAR-aligned standards
How Signal & Noise supports Banking & Fintech
Product & Service Development
Evaluate new financial products, features, and pricing models before launch.
Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty
Measure satisfaction, NPS, and the real drivers of retention and switching.
Trust & Brand Perception
Measure credibility, reputation, differentiation, and emotional connection.
Customer Understanding
Explore customer needs, motivations, expectations, and financial decision-making processes.
Digital Experience & Onboarding
Identify friction across websites, apps, onboarding journeys, and self-service experiences.
360° Brand Benchmark
Quant, qual, neuroscience, and desk research - one integrated brand view.
Our core Methodologies
Quantitative Market Research
Structured, scalable research designed to measure attitudes, behaviors, preferences, and market dynamics with statistical confidence. From large-scale surveys to segmentation, tracking, pricing, and concept testing, quantitative research helps transform consumer data into clear, evidence-based business decisions.
Qualitative Market Research
Exploratory, human-centered research that goes beyond surface-level responses to uncover motivations, perceptions, emotions, and unmet needs. Through in-depth conversations, observation, and immersive methodologies, qualitative research reveals the context and meaning behind consumer behavior.
Neuromarketing research
Advanced behavioral and neurophysiological methodologies that capture attention, emotion, engagement, and implicit response beyond conscious self-report. By adding a deeper layer of understanding, neuroscience research reveals what truly drives consumer behavior, not just what people choose to say about it.
Ready to launch campaigns that actually perform
Don’t leave your campaign performance to chance.
Test your ads before launch, understand real consumer reactions, and make decisions based on data – not assumptions.
54/100
Romania's average financial literacy score.
Romania scores significantly below the OECD average (63/100), highlighting the challenges consumers face when evaluating financial products, understanding risk, and making informed financial decisions.
Source: OECD / International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy
NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
When financial decisions are difficult to understand, trust, communication, and experience become critical.
Let’s explore how consumers perceive, evaluate, and choose your financial products.