Money20/20 Europe brought together fintech, banking, payments, and technology leaders from across the world for three days of discussions, networking, and industry insights in Amsterdam.
For the Kaizen Loyalty team, Money20/20 offered an opportunity to validate a trend we have been seeing across industries: loyalty is no longer viewed as a standalone rewards programme, but as a core part of the product experience.
Across meetings with banks, fintechs, payment providers, and digital platforms, discussions consistently centred around activation, engagement, and retention, highlighting a growing focus on building long-term customer relationships rather than one-time transactions.
Loyalty Is Expanding Beyond Traditional Rewards
The discussions at Money20/20 reinforced a shift that has been building across the industry for several years!
‘Loyalty is no longer viewed solely as a rewards mechanism attached to a product. Instead, it is becoming part of the product experience itself.’
Roy Meral, Sales & Partnership Manager of Kaizen Loyalty
Financial institutions and fintech providers are increasingly looking at how customer engagement can support onboarding, product adoption, feature discovery, and long-term retention.
As a result, loyalty is moving closer to everyday customer interactions and behavioural milestones.
Customer Engagement Remains a Key Priority
Another recurring theme was the challenge of keeping customers engaged after the initial sign-up.
Acquiring new users is becoming increasingly expensive, while switching between financial apps has never been easier. As a result, many fintechs are shifting attention toward activation, product adoption, and long-term retention.
Throughout the event, discussions frequently returned to the same question: how do you become part of a customer's daily financial routine? From payments and budgeting to investing and rewards, the focus is moving toward creating experiences that encourage regular interaction rather than occasional usage.
"Many teams are facing the same challenge," said Loran Ozsahakyan, Founder of Kaizen Loyalty.
"Acquisition gets the customer in, but retention is what creates long-term value. The focus is shifting toward building products people genuinely want to return to."
What Does This Mean for Loyalty?
One of the clearest takeaways from Money20/20 was that loyalty is becoming increasingly connected to the core product experience.
Rather than treating loyalty as a separate programme that sits alongside the product, organisations are looking for ways to embed engagement directly into the customer journey.
Product adoption, feature discovery, onboarding, financial education, and personalised experiences are all becoming part of the loyalty conversation.
For Kaizen Loyalty, this reinforces a belief we have long held: the most effective loyalty strategies are those that help customers build habits, achieve goals, and engage more frequently with the products they already use.
Looking Ahead
Money20/20 Europe once again provided a valuable opportunity to connect with industry leaders.
It reinforced something we are seeing across every industry we work with: customer engagement is becoming a product challenge, not just a marketing challenge.
As loyalty, gamification, personalisation, and retention become increasingly interconnected, we look forward to helping more organisations create experiences that customers genuinely want to return to.
Thank you to everyone who shared insights, ideas, and perspectives with the Kaizen Loyalty team throughout the event. We look forward to continuing the conversations.
