A new study conducted by tech marketing agency Z3x reveals that while business-to-business (B2B) fintech companies are active on social media and maintain blogs to connect with their audiences, there is room for improvement, particularly in creating an engaged developer ecosystem and offering developer portals.

The research, which polled 200 business-to-business (B2B) fintech companies worldwide and analyzed their websites, sought to evaluate the sector’s marketing strategies and technical details, aiming to provide insights to industry specialists.

Key findings indicate that 95% of B2B fintech companies use LinkedIn, 75% use Facebook, and 60% use X, making these three platforms the top social networks for B2B fintech businesses. Additionally, 77% of the companies have blogs, with 60% having general blogs, 36% news blogs, and 8% tech blogs. This reveals that most B2B fintech businesses have understood the importance of maintaining a blog to support authority building, education and lead generation.

The report emphasizes the need for diverse blog content, pointing out that the relatively small percentage of companies offering tech content represents a growth opportunity. By showcasing technological expertise, companies can engage their users more effectively, the report says.

Furthermore, the report highlights opportunities for improvement in the use of channels such as TikTok and Instagram. B2B fintech companies can stand out from competitors by leveraging these channels, it says. However, to effectively reach their audience and strengthen their industry position, they must tailor their content to each platform’s unique features and target audience.

Developer portals and communities

The Z3x study also examines the use of developer portals and communities, including the presence of “Dev Zones”, or dedicated spaces for developers.

Developer portals and communities are critical in driving product adoption, fostering innovation, and building long-term relationships with their clients. These platforms provide essential resources, support, and engagement opportunities that empower developers to effectively utilize fintech solutions and contribute to the ecosystem.

However, the research reveals that only 36% of the B2B fintech companies polled have a separate, dedicated area specifically for developers, and just 22% provide changelogs, a low percentage which may raise transparency concerns about product evolution.

Changelogs are websites that track and describe the changes made to a software project or product over time, such as the version number, date of release, and a summary of the changes made. They help developers and users understand the evolution of the system and stay informed about the latest updates.

Additionally, only 37% of B2B fintech companies offer a public application programming interface (API) that enables communication and data exchange between different software applications. This cautious approach may reflect a lack of trust in the developer community or fear of revealing competitive advantages, but may also limit product development and sector innovation.

Equally concerning is that only 43% of companies make their API documentation publicly available. At a time when application interactions are central to most technological solutions, keeping such documentation private can stifle innovation and collaboration, the report says. This practice, often driven by competitive fears, might protect certain business interests but at the expense of broader developmental opportunities.

Regarding community-building efforts, the study shows that only 9% of fintech companies have dedicated platforms for developer communities. The most used platforms are GitHub (67%), followed by Discord (17%), Stack Overflow (11%), Reddit, and Slack (both 6%).

SDKs and public code repositories

The report also discusses software development kits (SDKs) and public code repositories, emphasizing their importance in promoting transparency, support community and ecosystem development, and simplify integration.

SDKs are comprehensive collections of software tools, libraries, documentation, code samples, processes and guides that developers user to create applications. These offerings simplify integration, enhance developer experience and reduce development costs.

However, the study reveals that only 27% of the B2B fintech companies surveyed provide SDKs. Similarly, just 16% of companies maintain public code repositories, predominantly utilizing GitHub. Public repositories are online platforms that facilitate collaboration, code sharing, and community building among developers. They provide a centralized and transparent environment for hosting and managing software projects, promoting open collaboration, code reusability, transparency, accountability, community building, and visibility for projects and contributors.

For B2B fintech companies, not providing SDKs or not maintaining a public code repository can result in integration challenges, poor developer experience and reduced developer adoption, and a loss of community engagement. It can also lead to security concerns, difficulty scaling, limited innovation and competitive disadvantage.

The rise of B2B fintech

B2B fintech has witnessed remarkable growth and innovation in recent years, driven by increasing demand from businesses for tailored financial solutions, efficiency improvements, and technological advancements. Data from Dealroom.co reveal that there has been a notable shift in fintech activity from consumer-focused to business-oriented propositions, particularly evident in 2023.

According to the data provider, B2B fintech startups received the majority of fintech funding last year, accounting for 79.8% of total investments through November 30. In contrast, business-to-consumer (B2C) startups attracted only 20.2% of fintech funding during the same period. This represents a considerable decline from the 50.6% share that B2C fintech startups held in 2016, indicating a notable trend shift worth monitoring.

Nirav Choksi, CEO and co-founder of Indian digital banking platform CredAble expects the trend to carry on in 2024 and beyond, driven by opportunities in payment platforms, lending solutions, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools.

Choksi foresees several technology trends dominating the sector moving forward, including robotic process automation (RPA), blockchain technology, open finance, generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), and banking-as-a-service (BaaS).

RPA stands to automate repetitive tasks, improving efficiency and reducing costs; gen AI is poised to play a pivotal role in customizing financial services, optimizing investment portfolios, and enabling fairer credit access; and blockchain technology is set to enhance cross-border transactions, digital identity verification, trade finance, and compliance, he says.

Additionally, BaaS will allow non-financial companies to integrate financial services into their platforms, offering a connected and convenient financial experience for businesses; and open finance will evolve from open banking to utilize diverse data sets for more innovative and inclusive financial solutions.

Featured image credit: edited from freepik