This interview unpacks how a results-only mindset, a laser focus on financial services, and AI-powered strategies are reshaping partner marketing—and why getting CPA wrong might cost more than you think.
Nicky, you’ve built an impressive career in performance marketing. Can you walk us through your journey and what led you to take on the role of CEO at Fintel Connect?
Early in my career, I started in public relations, but as the Internet began to grow, I found myself naturally moving into digital marketing. At that time, I was helping a business that used affiliate programs, and it really resonated with me. I was used to working with journalists to tell stories, and I realized I was doing something similar with publishers in the affiliate world. What really captured my interest was the idea of only paying for actual results.
This experience led me to explore how to improve affiliate programs, especially in the gaming industry, which inspired me to create my first company, Income Access. We achieved great success, and after selling the company in 2016, I took some time to figure out what to do next.
That’s when I recognized a need in the financial services sector, a field where trust, compliance, and performance must all work together effectively. It was an exciting and natural step to start Fintel Connect. This company allows me to combine my love for storytelling and results-driven models in a way that truly benefits both brands and their marketing partners, and consumers since . I’m very excited about this area, and I feel lucky to lead a team that shares my enthusiasm for bringing innovation to this industry.
Fintel Connect has emerged as a leader in partner marketing for the financial industry. What sets your platform apart from other marketing solutions in the space?
What makes Fintel Connect truly unique is our commitment to delivering results. We operate on a performance-based model, meaning our clients only pay when they see real outcomes. This is especially important in the financial sector, where return on investment and accountability are essential.
Another feature is our network of publishers. We focus exclusively on the financial services industry, carefully selecting each partner to ensure they meet our high standards. This helps maintain quality and trust, which is crucial when working with regulated financial brands.
We are also dedicated to developing tools that cater specifically to the needs of financial institutions. One example is Fintel Check, which helps promote transparency and compliance in partner marketing and addresses the challenges sponsor banks face when monitoring the content of their fintech partners.
We combine three key elements: our deep understanding of the financial industry, our specially designed technology, and our reliable network of finance-focused partners. Together, these create a platform that drives meaningful and scalable growth for financial brands.
The CPA Benchmark Report provides essential insights into optimizing acquisition costs. What prompted you to create this report, and what problem does it aim to solve for financial institutions?
There are many misunderstandings about Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), especially regarding how it’s calculated and what it should be. Many organizations focus on the amount they’re willing to spend rather than what is actually required to compete in the market. Quite simply, affiliate marketing is a marketplace, and you need to be prepared to pay for attention, reach, and the results that publishers can provide.
CPA, while simple in definition, is quite nuanced when you break it down. It’s a formula and to succeed you need to understand the intricacies of each input.
To help better understand this forumla, we created the CPA Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services. Its purpose is to explain how CPA rates work and provide insight for financial institutions so they can make better decisions.
Because we work closely with various financial partners and have a strong network of publishers, we can offer insights that others in the industry may not be able to provide. This report is just one way we’re helping to enhance the discussion and promote smarter, more effective growth in the financial sector.
As competition for consumer attention intensifies, how can financial marketers leverage AI and automation to drive more efficient customer acquisition?
AI’s real superpower lies in its ability to synthesize, whether it’s data, consumer behavior, or insights from multiple sources. For financial marketers, that means AI can help bring together a wide range of information to create clearer, more actionable insights.
As the customer journey becomes more personalized, AI plays a key role in optimizing how we guide potential customers through that process. It can help reduce the guesswork and experimentation in marketing by analyzing what’s working and where budgets can be allocated more effectively. That level of intelligence means less trial and error and more precise targeting.
We also need to recognize that the digital landscape is shifting. Search engines are evolving with AI at the core, so we as marketers need to recalibrate. It’s no longer just about optimizing for Google; now, we also need to consider platforms like ChatGPT or Deepseek as emerging discovery engines. These are new, AI-driven optimization layers that will continue to change how consumers find and engage with financial services.
AI isn’t just a tool, it’s becoming an essential partner in driving smarter, more efficient customer acquisition.
Privacy regulations are increasingly shaping marketing strategies. How does Fintel Connect adapt to these changes, and what role does first-party data play in your approach?
What makes our platform different is our focus on protecting privacy. We don’t collect personal information and track usage in a way that keeps identities anonymous. This approach is especially important as privacy laws keep changing.
We recognize that different regions have their own rules about privacy. For example, in some places, an IP address is considered personal information. To address this, we’ve updated our technology to meet those requirements.
This commitment to privacy shows our dedication to serving the financial services industry. We know how important it is to follow the law, and our technology is constantly adapting to stay in line with new regulations. Even though we don’t handle personal data directly, we’ve designed our systems to help our clients comply with the rules in their areas.
You’ve spoken about the importance of multi-channel marketing. In your experience, which channels are currently yielding the best results for financial institutions, and why?
I’m not a fan of naming one marketing channel as “the best” because achieving success in financial services isn’t just about using one method. Think of it like cooking: a good recipe requires various ingredients that all work together. For instance, how you invest in social media can affect the awareness of your brand, which can impact on the effectiveness of your affiliate and search campaigns.
What really matters is setting a solid foundation. This means understanding your goals, who your customers are, what products you offer, and how you guide new customers through your services without friction. Once you have this groundwork, you can try different approaches within each marketing channel to see what works best for you.
Every financial institution has its own unique audience, offerings, and digital capabilities. What might succeed for one organization may not work for another. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution; it really comes down to each company’s goals, the products it focuses on, the promotions it offers, and the strength of its online systems.
That’s why we created our CPA Benchmark Guide: to help businesses realize that succeeding in customer acquisition isn’t just about choosing a single standout channel. It’s about discovering the right mix of strategies that align with their overall marketing goals.
Financial marketers often struggle with tracking inefficiencies and misaligned benchmarks. What steps can they take to address these challenges and better understand their true CPA?
One of the biggest challenges comes down to the fact that different channels optimize toward different events. That’s where misalignment often happens. For example, Google might optimize toward a click or lead event, something they can directly see and control. At Fintel Connect, we optimize toward an actual customer conversion, which is further down the funnel.
To gain true clarity on CPA, marketers first need to choose a specific conversion event they can consistently track, whether that’s a top-of-funnel lead, a bottom-of-funnel account opening, or post-customer engagement. The key is alignment. Once you’ve decided what event truly matters to your business, the goal is to pull all channels toward optimizing for that metric.
We’re in an era where marketers have more data than ever, but that volume can be overwhelming if you’re not clear on what you’re measuring. Each channel plays a unique role in the overall acquisition recipe. You can’t treat them all the same, but you can create consistency in how you define success. That’s what helps you understand your true CPA and make smarter optimization decisions.
The financial industry is undergoing rapid transformation. How do you foresee AI-driven personalization continuing to evolve in customer acquisition strategies over the next few years?
AI is a hot topic these days, especially when it comes to automating tasks and using chatbots, but we still have a long way to go to personalize financial services effectively. In finance, trust is crucial, and genuine connections build that trust. While many people are okay with using a chatbot for simple inquiries, they usually prefer to consult a real person when making key financial decisions, like choosing an investment.
I believe AI can help improve how companies operate behind the scenes and automate processes. AI can assist in organizing and directing customer interactions, but when it comes to making meaningful connections and closing deals, human interaction will still be vital.
On the flip side, AI can enhance the way we provide information and experiences. It can make it easier for people to find what they need by offering relevant and timely details. Still, if people don’t fully trust the information they receive, it might lead to even more questions. This highlights the challenge of using AI in marketing: It can simplify processes, but it needs to be guided carefully.
In the end, no matter how advanced a technology is, it’s never fully hands-off. Even with cutting-edge AI tools, human insight and strategy are essential for successful marketing.
With Fintel Connect’s extensive network of partners and collaborations with major financial brands, what’s been the key to cultivating these successful relationships?
At the heart of it, the key has been understanding a need. As a business, we’ve always approached relationships with a problem-solving mindset. We’re constantly asking ourselves: How can we add value? That mindset creates trust because our partners know we’re invested in their success, not just offering a product but actively working alongside them to solve challenges and help them grow.
That commitment to being of value is what has enabled us to build strong, lasting relationships with major financial brands. It’s not just about the technology or the partnership; it’s about listening, understanding, and showing up with solutions that truly move the needle.
Finally, what are the next steps for Fintel Connect? What are some of the exciting developments on the horizon for the company and the industry?
We’re at a really exciting precipice right now. As more banks and digital financial institutions come online and embrace innovation, the opportunity for growth is big, both for the industry and for us at Fintel Connect.
Our next chapter is all about expansion: bringing more products to customers, reaching new audiences, and entering new markets. The future for us is all about scale. Scaling our impact, our innovation, and, ultimately, the value we deliver to our partners.
Quote: “Understanding your acquisition costs is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy, especially in financial services where margins and efficiency matter,” says Fintel Connect CEO Nicky Senyard.
