The spine
Fintech PPC, sub-vertical by sub-vertical
"Fintech" doesn't describe a single Google Ads strategy. Lending, payments, wealthtech, and insurtech each have their own buyer behaviour, regulatory framework, and CAC tolerance. Below: how we approach paid acquisition for each sub-vertical, including which regulations actually shape the ad copy and landing-page work.
Section 1
Lending: Consumer Credit, BNPL, SME Finance, and Mortgage
Lending advertising sits inside the FCA's CONC sourcebook. Anything "credit broker" or "lender" related needs FCA permissions, financial-promotion sign-off, and APR / representative example transparency on every ad and landing page. Consumer Duty applies in full — landing pages have to demonstrate that the customer outcome is fair and the value is clear, not buried.
The PPC playbook here optimises against bound applications, not click-throughs — most lenders will integrate offline conversion uploads from their loan management system back into Google Ads so smart bidding sees actual approvals as the conversion event. Approval rates at the click level are nearly meaningless; bound application volume and ratio of bound to declined is the real signal.
What changes vs generic finance PPC: tighter representative-example placement rules, mandatory APR disclosure in ad copy, BNPL-specific messaging restrictions (after the FCA's expanded BNPL rules), and Consumer Duty value-and-fair-outcome content on every landing page.
Section 2
Payments: Acquirers, Gateways, FX, and Embedded Finance
Payments PPC sits inside the PSD2 framework today and the incoming PSD3 / PSR framework from 2026. Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) rules influence how we describe checkout flows in landing-page copy. Open Banking / PIS-licensed providers have specific authorisation language they can use; non-licensed providers can't imply they have permissions they don't hold.
The PPC playbook differs from the B2B SaaS PPC playbook because the conversion event is usually contract signing on a multi-year merchant agreement, not a free trial. Sales cycles can run 60–180 days. Smart bidding has to be tuned to optimise against MQL-to-SQL progression rather than direct conversion, with pipeline value flowing back into Google Ads via CRM offline conversion uploads.
What changes vs generic finance PPC: PSD3-readiness language on landing pages (where applicable), permissions-aware copy review for non-licensed providers, multi-touch attribution that accounts for sales cycles spanning quarters, and merchant-acquisition-specific compliance review at brief stage.
Section 3
Wealthtech: Investment Platforms, Robo-Advice, and Private Wealth
Wealthtech advertising sits inside the FCA's COBS rulebook plus financial-promotion rules under FSMA s21. "Capital at risk" disclosure is mandatory. Performance figures need standardised methodology disclosure. Vulnerable customer treatment matters more here than almost anywhere else — wealth advertising aimed at retirees or other potentially vulnerable cohorts triggers heightened content requirements.
The PPC playbook for wealthtech is conversion-event-led on funded-account opens (not just signups), with asset-under-management lift as the leading indicator that smart bidding optimises against. The FCA's Consumer Duty framework reshaped how landing pages have to demonstrate value and outcomes — the "would a reasonable customer understand this?" test now sits inside the brief, not the post-launch review.
What changes vs generic finance PPC: mandatory capital-at-risk disclosure, performance-figure presentation rules, vulnerable-customer-content layers, and AUM-led conversion modelling rather than account-signup-led.
Section 4
Insurtech: Embedded Insurance, B2B Compliance Platforms, and D2C Insurers
Insurtech sits inside the ICOBS and IDD frameworks for regulated insurance activity, plus FCA conduct rules for the underlying business. Embedded-insurance plays often involve a partner-broker relationship that has its own compliance layer; the PPC work has to land cleanly across both. Vulnerable customer treatment, exclusion transparency, and demands-and-needs assessment all show up in landing-page work, not just the post-quote flow.
The PPC playbook for insurtech ranges widely — D2C insurers run high-volume head-term campaigns where comparison-site dynamics dominate (the insurance PPC playbook applies); embedded-insurance providers run B2B pipeline campaigns more like SaaS; B2B compliance platforms run technical-buyer campaigns more like enterprise SaaS. We pick the playbook by the buyer, not by the "insurtech" label.
What changes vs generic finance PPC: ICOBS / IDD compliance review at brief stage, partner-broker compliance fluency where applicable, and buyer-segment-specific playbooks rather than a single insurtech default.
