In today’s fast-moving fintech landscape, transformation is no longer a choice - it’s a necessity. With customer expectations evolving, regulations tightening, and technology advancing at pace, digital banks face growing pressure to continually modernise systems and deliver seamless, secure, and customer-centric digital experiences.
For thinkmoney, a UK-based e-money provider with a long-standing mission to improve financial wellbeing, this meant embarking on a major transformation to future-proof its services and enhance the offering. We recently spoke to Andy Leitch - CTO at thinkmoney - who shared the organisation’s story, offering an inside look at the decisions and lessons that steered the journey.
In this blog, we delve deep into what a successful migration process looks like – from balancing innovation with compliance to ensuring customers remain at the heart of every decision, plus practical insights for any CTO or strategy director at fintechs or enterprises navigating similar change.
A fintech's migration journey: The key takeaways
thinkmoney’s migration was a strategic project defined by collaboration, clarity of purpose, and a deep commitment to delivering value for customers.
Here are some of the key lessons from their experience:
📌 Commitment to a cause: thinkmoney’s strong mission to improve financial access and inclusivity guided every step of the process. This sense of purpose helped align teams and maintain focus on customer outcomes throughout the transformation.
📌 Strategic planning and governance: The success of the migration process was underpinned by robust project governance, involving stakeholders at every level of the organisation and ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements. Transparent communication and meticulous planning were instrumental in mitigating risks and ensuring a smooth transition.
📌 Choosing the right partner: Selecting the right partner proved to be a critical factor in the success of the migration. The collaborative approach, combined with a shared vision for innovation, enabled the organisations to leverage each other's strengths and drive impactful change.
📌 Focus on user-centricity: Throughout the journey, a relentless focus on customer outcomes guided decision-making and product development. thinkmoney's heritage of prioritising good customer outcomes, coupled with regulatory considerations, underscored the importance of aligning transformation efforts with customer needs.
📌 Embracing complexity with confidence: While the migration posed significant challenges due to the complexity of fintech products, thinkmoney approached the project with confidence. By investing time in planning, addressing gaps, and fostering a culture of innovation, they overcame obstacles and achieved their goals.
Practical tips for a fintech digital transformation
Drawing on the insights shared during the webinar, there are several practical steps any fintech or enterprise organisation can take to make their own transformation journey smoother:
1️⃣ Start with a clear purpose
Before diving into technology or processes, define what success looks like and why transformation is needed. A shared vision, especially with external partners, helps teams stay aligned when challenges arise.
2️⃣ Build strong governance early
Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines from the outset. Robust governance reduces uncertainty, speeds up decision-making, and ensures regulatory alignment throughout the project.
3️⃣ Prioritise your customer outcomes
Keep customer experience at the centre of every decision. Map out how changes will impact end users and use that insight to guide design, testing, and delivery.
4️⃣ Choose partners who share your values
The right partners can accelerate transformation - but only if they understand your business goals, regulatory environment, and appetite for innovation.
5️⃣ Embrace complexity - but plan for it
Migration projects rarely go exactly to plan. Anticipate hurdles, build contingency into timelines, and foster a culture where teams feel empowered to problem-solve collaboratively.
Explore the full story
Want to learn how these principles played out in practice? Watch the full webinar on demand to hear thinkmoney’s firsthand experience.
Final thoughts
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, organisations like thinkmoney are poised to drive further innovation and expansion. By leveraging the lessons learned from their migration journey, they are well-positioned to meet the dynamic needs of customers, embrace emerging technologies, and expand their offerings to underserved markets.
Essentially, the success of a digital transformation journey hinges on a strategic blend of vision, collaboration, and adaptability. By embracing complexity, prioritising customer-centricity, and fostering strong partnerships, organisations can navigate the challenges of digital transformation with confidence and drive meaningful change in the fintech industry.
The blueprint for a successful fintech digital transformation
Discover how thinkmoney delivered a successful migration and what lessons other fintechs can take away from their journey.
