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Who I work with · Fintech
Fractional CMO for fintech
Marketing leadership for fintech companies, from pre-launch to listed. I’ve spent most of 20 years marketing regulated financial products: building Xero’s UK banking, payments and lending ecosystem, doubling revenue at Contis and Uncapped, tripling it at Penfold, and taking a MENA payments proposition from stealth to acquisition.
Why fintech is different
Fintech marketing is trust marketing
Every fintech asks a customer to trust it with money, which makes marketing a different sport. Claims are regulated: financial-promotions rules decide what you can say, so differentiation has to come from proof, specificity and brand rather than adjectives. Buying cycles run long and multi-stakeholder, with compliance and risk in the room. And distribution often runs through partners: banks, platforms, advisers and accountants, as much as through channels you can buy.
That changes what good looks like. Partnership and ecosystem marketing matter more than in most B2B categories. Educational content outperforms product pushes, because buyers are doing risk homework rather than browsing. And the numbers that matter are unit economics by segment, not lead volume: in B2B2C models, one partner decision can be worth thousands of end-users.
This is where I’ve spent most of my career: first UK platform marketing hire at Xero, building the banking, payments and lending ecosystem; a new B2B demand engine at Contis that helped strengthen the business ahead of its acquisition by Solaris; an acquisition-model redesign at Penfold; a GTM reset at Uncapped; and pre-launch GTM for a MENA payments fintech, including two major UAE banking partnerships.
In fintech, the fastest growth lever is usually proof plus partnerships, not louder advertising.
Track record
Where I’ve done it
Five fintech tenures, each with a published case study and numbers with context.
Xero, listed SaaS/fintech
First UK platform marketing hire. Helped build the banking, payments and lending ecosystem: UK operating revenue grew from c.£20m to £50m+ during my tenure and we delivered 150% of the payments revenue target.
Contis, PE-backed BaaS
Built the B2B demand engine, proposition and ABM approach that tripled inbound leads and sourced 88% of new B2B clients, as revenue doubled from c.£15m to £30m and end-users grew from 200k to c.2m.
Penfold, Series A pensions
Shifted acquisition from B2C-led growth towards workplace, adviser and channel models, helping triple revenue in 12 months while cutting CAC by 60%.
Uncapped, revenue-based finance
Reset the ICP and GTM around lending after a planned US banking proposition was paused: revenue doubled in nine months and CAC fell 33%.
Jillion, MENA payments
Pre-launch GTM from October 2023 to October 2024: positioning, brand and launch pipeline, plus two major UAE banking partnerships. The company was sold within the year.
Now
Recent fintech work
The pattern continues with current clients. Fractional growth leadership at GoCardless, spanning strategy, experimentation, lifecycle, performance marketing and AI and automation. Positioning, ICP refinement, sales enablement and content for Adclear, an AI FinProm compliance platform. And brand narrative, partner strategy, outbound automation and RevOps for Round Treasury.
Working inside a financial-promotions compliance business keeps the regulatory side of fintech marketing current rather than remembered.
Julian was intrinsic to the success we enjoyed growing out the Ecosystem in the UK and EMEA; and especially in raising the profile of Xero in London’s fintech scene.
FAQ
Fintech founders ask
Do you work with regulated businesses?
Yes, that’s most of my career: banking-as-a-service, payments, pensions, lending and accounting-platform ecosystems across UK, EU and MENA markets. I currently work with Adclear, an AI financial-promotions compliance platform, so the FinProm side of fintech marketing stays current. Compliance sits in the room from day one, not at sign-off.
B2B, B2C or B2B2C?
Mostly B2B and B2B2C: selling to businesses, platforms and partners, or through them to consumers. Penfold’s shift from B2C-led acquisition to workplace and adviser channels is the closest to consumer work, and a useful playbook for any fintech whose consumer CAC doesn’t add up.
What stage do you join?
Anywhere from pre-launch to listed. Jillion was pre-launch GTM, Penfold and Uncapped were venture-backed resets, Contis was a PE-backed scale-up, and Xero is a listed business. The playbook changes by stage, which is why there are separate early-stage and scale-up service pages.
How are you different from a fintech marketing agency?
An agency executes a channel; I own the growth number with you. Strategy, positioning, channel economics, team and agency direction, board reporting: the CMO job, fractionally. Where agencies are needed I brief and manage them, and where they’re not I’ll say so.
What does it cost?
£800 per day on a 30-day rolling contract, whether the work is ongoing fractional leadership or a focused project with defined deliverables. No equity, no lock-in. Most engagements run two to four days a month.
Growing a fintech?
Book a 30-minute call. Bring the growth problem; I’ll bring five fintech tenures’ worth of pattern recognition. No pitch.