Act Globally and Think Locally with Financial Translation
Financial translation is an umbrella term that includes much more than the translation of financial documents. Professional translation services can help a fintech startup scale globally and build credibility by offering accurate, appropriate, and customized solutions. A few financial translation tips can make the difference you need to succeed.
Why Accurate Financial Translation Is the Key?
According to a Statista Report on Global Startups, the share of fintech startups worldwide is 7.1 percent. It means that you will face significant competition both locally and globally, and not only from startups, but from well-established players in the industry.
Professional translation services are invaluable in presenting your product or service to a new market since CSA report’s Can’t Read Won’t Buy reveals that this paradigm is still valid, even though English may be one of the leading languages for business worldwide.
When it comes to fintech, the sensitive issue of trusting a startup with your financial means and personal data is even more prominent. If you fail to present accurately your service in the native language of your customers, you will definitely fail your international market penetration attempt.
Accurate financial translation is the key to your success. You need to be very precise with the terminology that you use and the guarantees that you offer so that they correspond completely with the local market regulations and requirements.
The translated content that you present to your customers should have the same powerful message as it does in your own language. Any mistakes in the accuracy or fluency of the text will diminish your credibility and expose you as non-professionals in this highly sensitive industry.
Get To Know the Regulatory Basis
Fintech market is regulatory-intensive. The regulations and requirements differ in each country and while the U.K.’s financial market is more liberal, others are quite strict.
You need to be aware of the regulatory framework of the country that you are targeting, and your financial translations need to reflect this deep knowledge. Similar to legal translation, hiring a pro can save you millions and help your startup avoid unintentional breaches, thus letting you navigate successfully in the regulatory system of the new market.
Offer a Localized Website with Optimized Social Media Platforms
Your website is your business card in the online world. Fintech is an industry that knows no boundaries, but limiting your online presentation to only one language limits your potential customer reach.
Professional website translation services by financial translators will give your fintech startup the solid back it needs for global expansion.
When it comes to financial operations, customers need to feel secure. A company with strong attention to detail in each aspect of the service it offers will win customers’ trust easier. A localized website taking into account the cultural differences of the target market shows that you mean business seriously.
Your website localization needs to be doubled by extensive social media presence and adequate optimization of social media accounts.
Millennials are among the most active users of fintech products and services, and they are tech-savvy and keen on using social media. According to the Social Media Fact Sheet of the Pew Research Center, 86 percent of Millennials in the U.S. alone use at least one social media platform.
Focus On Your Numbers
Numbers are universal in any language, aren’t they? This is quite far from the truth actually. Each language has its specification when it comes to presenting percentages, fractions, or thousands with their numerical value.
In financial translation, it is of paramount importance to get the numbers properly translated from one language into another in order to avoid costly mistakes. Punctuation is crucial for the message you send, as you may promise your clients a financial return on their investment a thousand times higher than it actually is by using an inappropriate punctuation mark.
1,500 in German is actually a thousand times smaller than 1,500 in English, which refers to one thousand and five hundred. Focus on the accuracy of number localization in all your financial content if you want to win the trust of the customers and establish your brand’s credibility.
Start Big and Build Trust
For fintech startups, the concept of start small, dream big is not the best approach.
The combination of the highly sensitive financial instruments and extremely fast-developing technologies allows no time to linger behind. You need to plan your global expansion carefully and enter the new market with your full potential. By the way, have you already read our post on how to solve the translation problem on your global expansion?
As a fintech startup, you need to offer a fully localized and integrated service or product that can be immediately used by the end consumers. That allows for no mistakes in the used financial terminology through your entire company content—website, marketing materials, contracts, financial documentation.
You can scale up and build trust by offering an immaculate product or service from the very beginning of your global expansion. This can be achieved by striking the right partnerships—either with established global financial institutions or with renowned local companies that can back you up.
The partnership with a professional translation company is one that must be concluded first. Assigning all your translation projects to a single provider will guarantee high quality and consistency of the services while curbing your costs at the same time. You can find more information on the topic in our free whitepaper “The Global Marketer’s Checklist for Buying Translation Services”.