How fintech business should respond to the results of the presidential elections?
In light of the publication of exit polls and counting protocols, Zelensky’s victory is obvious. He is already congratulated in Ukraine and abroad, the current president is preparing for the status of the opposition, and business is trying to figure out how to live and work with the new head of state for the next 5 years. Most of the profile associations agree that Poroshenko is “business as usual”, and Zelensky is uncertainty. It seems to me that the second introduces too much mysticism and panic in our life. And giving in to panic is the worst thing a business can do. I think the financial technology market should not do this. What it should do instead?
Support government institutions
During my trips to the United States, I noticed that the Americans — despite all their presidential power and the last two masters of the White House — don’t take the person higher, than the office. Yes, everyone supports their own candidate, and different flags can hang in two neighboring houses. But, as soon as the choice is made, everyone — the voters, the losing members of the administration — forget about the confrontation and, above all, support the institutions. That’s why it is a democracy: even a very good politician can have no more than two terms. There were, and will be, many candidates, and we have one president as the head of state.
Did you vote for the newly elected president? Great, your expectations were met with reality. Voted for acting one? Also good, it’s not a reason to curse your neighbors and relatives, to insult them and burn bridges. We all want the same thing — to live better than before, in a country for which we are not ashamed of, and the economy, which is not a pity. And the difference in who will provide it from Bankova Str is not so important. Do you know why? Because we all need to go towards this goal together.
The position of the fintech business here completely duplicates such conscious civil individualism. We expect the head of state to support reforms of the financial market, its liberalization and digitalization. The head of state expects from us to work in the legal field and strengthen the financial state of the economy. Which should not be on the verge in case of a personality change, which it represents this head. Therefore, I support the state institution.
Build a business
For the last 5 years we have been working on creating new products, developing a cashless economy, making the payment services market civilized. Our goals have not changed, our tools, too. And personally, I’m ready, as before, to participate in the development of electronic public services, as I did with the current president.
At the same time, the challenges of a dynamic fintech business, which I often write about, have not gone away. We just could forget about them for a moment in the information noise. All these years we have persistently convinced our partners that Ukraine has changed, and now it is a European country with a large market they should work with. And now is a great moment to prove to our foreign colleagues that this is true. Not when power is stable, but when the elections have passed, and everyone is watching with interest how Ukrainians will behave. And believe me, the whole world is watching. I will not change my development strategy, I am not going to stop running initiatives. We need to develop Internet acquiring and mobile payments — because time and customers demands it. And the economic growth is profitable for authority. Any authority.
Do not panic
The rule that should be the first in importance. Simple advice from the book of Douglas Adams is a universal recipe for success. The customer may panic (although he or she shouldn’t do this), but the business is not. Especially fintech. We are the most developed, technological, innovative branch of the financial system. We always need to remember about the responsibility for each payment, and therefore doing business with an eye to the elections is an inadmissible luxury. We are responsible to customers, and everything that has been done in their interests and in accordance with the law is correct. Everything else is emotion.
