‘New, different, and easy to say’: How fintechs go about choosing their names
- Standing out as a company in an industry as fast-growing as fintech is no easy task.
- Finding the right brand name can be a make-or-break for a lot of aspiring startups.
On October 28, Facebook announced it was changing its name to Meta. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the goal of the new name is to better encompass the company’s broadening moves into virtual reality.
The rebrand announcement also came following the negative coverage on the company brought about by leaked documents from an ex-employee.
In other words, it could be the company’s way of tiptoeing into some more flattering lighting.
While brand names matter for every company, fintechs have the added pressure of standing out in a market that continues to grow.
They also may have some unique boxes they need to fill with their names. A lot of times, these companies make their way into the financial industry with catchphrases like ‘disruptor’ and ‘innovator’. The names they choose play a role in reflecting these sentiments.
A lot of fintechs, for example, present themselves as alternatives to the brick-and-mortar institution, outdated and weighed down by legacy systems. One trend then is for the name to reflect a sense of beating the system or going against the grain.
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