Top Fintech Referral Program Tips [+Tools]

Looking for a better way to attract new clients to your fintech service, website, or app? People trust peer recommendations far more than they trust ads, so why not leverage this trust with a fintech referral program? 

Today, we’re diving into:

• The benefits of starting a fintech referral program
• How to know if you’re ready to start one
• Top tips for managing fintech refer-a-friend programs

What is a fintech referral program?

Fintech referral programs reward existing users of your fintech platform when they successfully recommend your service to peers who become new leads or customers. Often, they also reward the newly referred user, to encourage them to sign up.

It’s a win-win-win: people searching for a fintech service get a recommendation from a trusted source, current users can earn rewards in exchange for recommending you, and you gain new leads who are primed to start using your service. 

A fintech user can easily join a referral program, share their unique referral code through social media or direct messaging, and redeem their rewards – all in a few clicks. And if you choose the right referral tracking tool, a successful referral campaign is easy to set up and run automatically.

Why run a fintech referral program?

Fintech referral programs work by engaging your existing users. Instead of paying for pricey ad placements, you’re rewarding every successful referral and building a stronger customer base. Here are some other benefits:

1. Enhanced brand visibility: By promoting word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied users, referral programs create a positive image of your brand, establish social proof, and spark interest among potential clients.

2. Quicker and dependable conversions: Studies indicate that a strong recommendation from a personal connection is up to 50 times more effective in prompting a purchase, compared to a generic ad from a company.

3. Reduced customer acquisition costs (CAC): Beyond the initial setup and service expenses, referral programs operate on a pay-for-performance basis. You only reward referrals when they successfully convert into new customers or leads. (As a fintech business, you can further decrease your CAC by offering low-cost incentives, like credits to someone’s account or free upgrades.)

4. Higher conversion rates: When current users advocate for your fintech business, they typically refer individuals who are already inclined to convert. These users are familiar with your service and likely know other people – or businesses – that would benefit as well. Additionally, a personal recommendation boosts the likelihood that others will be eager to try your service.

5. Improved customer retention and lifetime value: Since fintech companies rely on subscriptions and recurring revenue, referral marketing programs are particularly advantageous. Referred users are 18% more likely to remain loyal to a brand compared to those who come in through other channels.

Referral software for fintech companies [Free Tools]

These referral tools for fintech companies are a free and easy way to help you start your referral program.

Want a fully automated referral program for your fintech business? Run your referral program with us at Referral Rock. Find out how we can build your program with you (and tailor it to your unique needs)

Is your business a good fit for a referral program?

Fintech referral programs work well for:

• Mobile banking apps
• Mobile payment apps
• Stock trading services
• Blockchain/cryptocurrency services
• Business financial management platforms, such as regulatory tech

Standout referral programs from PayPal and Robinhood are in the fintech space – proof that referral marketing really can pay dividends for fintech!

Essentials before you start

Before launching a refer-a-friend initiative, it’s essential to nail core elements. Having these keys in place will significantly increase the chances of your referral program thriving.

To begin with, you should have a solid user base. Your users are the network that promotes your services to others, and a sufficiently large network is crucial for the success of your referral program.

In addition, ensure that you deliver exceptional customer service. A remarkable customer experience is the primary reason why users will feel inclined to recommend you. Are people leaving five-star reviews, sending stellar feedback, posting positive comments, or recommending you even before you’ve launched a referral program?

Finally, is your customer service team ready to handle an influx of new users? You must be ready to deliver the same high-quality experience that led your users to recommend you.

Our expert tips for fintech referral programs

Follow these steps to create a high-quality fintech referral program that brings in more users:

Select motivating rewards

First, how much do you want to offer? When choosing your reward value, ask these questions: 

• What is the average value of a user? 
• What does it cost to acquire a user? 
• What is sustainable for your business to keep paying out? 

The higher the value of a user, the higher your reward value should be. But don’t exceed your average customer acquisition cost.  

As for the type of rewards, figure out what would best motivate your users to share. Aside from flat cash, payouts towards your service are the most popular option. This could be cash back into someone’s account if you’re a mobile banking or payment app, or free stocks if you manage stock trading. An easy way to tie the reward to the value of a customer is to pay this out as a percentage commission on the sale. 

Even though they aren’t connected back to your service, gift cards are another popular reward as they offer the freedom of choice. Expand that choice even more by letting people pick a gift card from a menu of popular options. This is a great choice if your fintech is B2B and the referrers aren’t always the ones directly paying for your service.

Subscription credits or discounts, upgrades, and high-value gift items are other popular fintech referral rewards.

Decide on your rewards structure

After selecting an incentive, the next step is to establish your reward structure: Who will receive the reward, and when will it be paid out?

You’ll need to reward both referrers and new leads, to motivate both existing users to share and new users to sign on (a double-sided reward). This way, people don’t feel like they’re “selling out” their friends – instead, they’re helping their peers out and giving them a gift.

Rewards should also be cumulative, allowing users to accumulate rewards for each referral they successfully bring in.

You might consider a tiered program, where users can unlock progressively larger rewards as they refer more people. For example, they could receive $20 cash back for one referral, $100 cash back for three referrals, and a valuable tech item for ten referrals. This strategy encourages users to share your brand with as many individuals as possible. Plus, it’s easy to gamify this structure with motivating trackers. 

If your sales cycle is extended, consider implementing multi-step rewards, offering a smaller incentive for generating a qualified lead and a more substantial reward when that lead becomes a paying user.

You can also increase the rewards on offer for limited time periods (say, during either peak usage times or slow periods) to drum up more excitement. 

Regardless of the reward structure you opt for, ensure that your users receive their rewards automatically. Avoid making them wait for their cash or upgrades. If they qualify for a tangible incentive, promptly notify them that their reward is on its way.

Referral Rock is versatile enough to accommodate any reward structure you choose, including tiered and multi-step rewards.

Here’s more on how Referral Rock can help you optimize rewards >

Open the program to VIPs first 

Instead of opening the program to all your users, create a sense of exclusivity by letting your most committed advocates access it first. This will give you time to test the program, as well as make your top users feel like VIPs. 

The most committed advocates are existing clients who match the profile of users you want to recruit, and:

• Are your longest-standing users
• Have used your services most often
• Already shared how awesome your services are (in person, on social media, in positive reviews) – the more frequently, the better
• Recently posted a positive comment, left a 5-star review, or gave stellar  in-person feedback

Send them a personalized note expressing your gratitude for their support and inviting them to help recruit new clients through the referral program. Once you’ve mobilized these advocates, you can roll out the program to your full clientele.

Remove the login step with One Click Access

Making sharing frictionless convinces more users to become members of your program, and this increases the number of referrals they bring in. One of the best ways to remove friction, and make sharing easier, is to remove the tedious step of logging into your program.

Using Referral Rock’s One Click Access links means your clients can start sharing your fintech platform right away. This way, they’re already enrolled in the program, and don’t have to take the extra step of signing up or filling out a form. They’ll only need to enter minimal information about their peers to send referrals.

Include One Click Access links in all the emails you send to promote your referral program. This includes newsletters and transactional emails (and not just emails focused solely on your referral program). 

With Referral Rock, you can also let new and existing members access their referral portal with popular social logins like Google and Facebook, so they don’t need to enter a password.

Streamline the sharing process

There are several other ways to make it as easy as possible for users to refer friends, and create maximum engagement and shares.

Remember: you’re asking your clients to do you a favor by spreading the word about your fintech platform. The more time and effort it takes to send a referral, the more likely they’ll get frustrated and bounce. The fewer steps, the better.

One major way to simplify sharing is to make the program easy to access from within your app or platform. Place a “refer friends” option in your menu, or even on your main page. Ensure that referring someone only takes 1-2 clicks or taps.

If your app already involves the sending of money to friends, this is the perfect opportunity to encourage referrals!

Once users have accessed the program:

• Explain it in three to four bulleted steps for clarity. 
• Highlight the benefits of sharing, including both rewards and intrinsic benefits.
• Clearly state when clients will receive their rewards to prevent any misunderstandings. 
• Keep your program page tidy, avoiding excessive text or distractions. 
• Make sure there’s a prominent call to action (CTA) that motivates sharing. 

Additionally, aim to reduce the effort needed for users to refer others. 

• Provide multiple sharing options that align with how people typically communicate with friends, such as through email, social media, and text messages. 
• Supply a referral link that clients can quickly copy and share anywhere, as referral software can generate these links with ease. 
• Prepare a friendly, pre-written message for users to send to their friends, ensuring it feels personal and conversational.

Learn more about how Referral Rock offers a streamlined referral experience to your customers >

Promote your program on various channels

The more program participants you have, the more successful referrals – and revenue – you stand to generate. So, it’s essential to promote your program and its rewards across all user interaction points.

To maximize your promotional efforts, focus on channels that your users frequently encounter. Here are some ideas to help you spread the word about your program:

• As previously mentioned, embed numerous referral promotions directly into your fintech platform. Add links to your referral program within your portal for convenient access..
• Send out mass emails to all users, fully dedicated to promoting your program, to engage new users and keep the program top of mind.
• Incorporate one-sentence promotions for your referral program in transactional emails, balance updates, newsletters, and other regular communications.
• Create a prominent website banner or hero image on your homepage that links directly to your referral landing page.
• Look into subtle promotion techniques on your website, like adding a link in the footer or menu. If clients can easily see and access it, they are more likely to participate in your program.
• Share updates about your referral program on your social media channels. 

Keep existing users engaged

It’s equally crucial to keep your referral program fresh in the minds of users who have already signed up, but who might need a little encouragement to continue sharing. One effective approach is to utilize automated emails that are sent at strategic times.

For example, you could send a reminder email 3-5 days after someone joins your program, congratulate members via email whenever they earn a reward, and take advantage of Referral Rock’s Monthly Summary emails, which provide a personalized recap of each member’s referral activities every month.

You might also promote your offer when a user completes a task or hits a certain milestone. You’re looking for those “aha” moments when engagement is high and users see value with your service

Additionally, keep sending out promotional emails about your referral program – at least once a month during the first year of its operation. After that initial year, aim to send these promotional emails at least quarterly, while also exploring other promotional strategies.

Carefully track ROI

It’s crucial to monitor, test, analyze, and enhance your program. Marketers must keep an eye on key metrics – awareness, shares, reach, and referrals – to determine the effectiveness of the referral program, identify areas for improvement, and assess its overall value. 

You should also track your costs versus your revenue: the expenses for rewards and the operational costs of the program, versus the sales you generate. If your referral revenue surpasses your customer acquisition cost (CAC), you’re achieving a positive return on investment (ROI) from your referral program. This insight should inform your future actions.

Pick a software that can handle fintech needs

Fortunately, there are numerous software options that simplify the process of creating, automating, and customizing your program in just a few minutes. But many of these tools are primarily designed for e-commerce, and can’t properly address the complexities of B2B or subscription-based products and sales. Instead, rely on Referral Rock, as we have a wealth of experience developing programs in the SaaS, banking and fintech spaces.

Referral Rock software simplifies the design, tracking, rewarding, and promotion of your program, making it an essential resource for anyone aiming to implement a successful fintech referral initiative.

With Referral Rock, you can:

• Fully customize rewards: Select any reward type and structure you wish, including tiered and multi-step rewards.
• Track referrals seamlessly: Unique referral links for each customer let you track exactly where each referral came from. Plus, users can track referrals they send with their own personal dashboards.
• Automate reward payouts: Send incentives right when they’re earned to keep users happy. Automate multi-step payouts by connecting with your CRM.
• Automate promotions: Strategic, automated promotional emails keep users engaged, and the passwordless links inside make sharing even easier.
• Integrate with key tools: Seamlessly integrate Referral Rock with over 50 tools, including your CRM.
• Collect program data: Measure your program’s success at a glance, and make informed adjustments and improvements.
• Set up quickly: Referral Rock lets you set up your program in days (not months), with expert support at every step.

Ready to start your fintech referral program?

For the most successful fintech referral program, you need a service worth sharing (is it actually good?), an attractive incentive to motivate sharing (what’s in it for me?), and a frictionless referral process (is it easy?).

And of course, choose the right referral software to streamline the setup process, make promotion easy, and get data on brand awareness and conversions generated from referrals.

Book a consultation to learn more about how referral marketing could work for your fintech business.