By Savvas Hadjiminas, Country Representative (Cyprus)
It has been years since I earned my Master’s degree in Intelligence Management, and just as many since I last worked directly in that field. What I didn’t expect is that the discipline never really left me, it simply found a different arena: fintech. I never thought that I can use my strategic intelligence techniques in fintech and especially in client services.
Let me explain why.
In fintech, we spend a lot of time talking about infrastructure. APIs, automation, scalability, compliance frameworks, payment rails. Don’t get me wrong, yes all of that matters.
But, all these years working with clients, running my own business and then in fintech, I have learned something simpler and at the same time uncomfortable for many companies out there: “Information is common. Intelligence is knowing what actually matters.”
Most fintech platforms today are well built. Technologically advanced. Process-driven. However, what differentiates them is not technology alone, but how decisions are made when reality deviates from the template.
Client Service Is Not a Process, It Is Judgment
Client service is often treated as a workflow. Client transactions or onboarding has a problem, ticket raise, case reviewed, policy applied and boom! Response sent!
That works…until it doesn’t. Because real clients don’t arrive as perfect data points. Real clients are coming to you with incomplete information, time pressure, regulatory friction, and market-specific realities.
“Client service is not a process. It’s judgment.”
And exactly at this point is where intelligence enters the picture. Anyone trained in intelligence will tell you: the objective is not to collect more information. In intelligence work, the goal is to identify:
- What is relevant
- To separate the signal from noise
- What actually influences the outcome
This exactly the principal that applies for national security, geopolitics, and so on. But I realized that the same principal applies to client service in fintech!
Understanding a client’s business model, risk exposure, jurisdictional nuance, and operational constraints often matters more than simply following a checklist. So, good systems process information. Strong teams apply intelligence.
Why Local Presence Changes the Equation
This is something we understood clearly at VIALET. A few months ago, they came to me and told me: “We need a person in Cyprus”. It was then, when we realize that one of the most underestimated elements in fintech operations is local insight.
Having “boots on the ground” means:
- Understanding how clients actually operate, not how they describe it
- Interpreting regulatory expectations beyond written rules
- Anticipating friction before it escalates into delays or disputes
At VIALET, supporting clients isn’t just about responding. It’s about reading the situation correctly and acting early. That requires judgment, discretion, and accountability, not just speed.
Intelligence Builds Trust
Of course, nobody and especially, clients don’t expect perfection. Sometimes, they simply want to sit across the table, shake a hand, and speak to someone who understands their reality. When a client feels understood, not processed, then trust forms naturally.
And trust is what allows fintech partnerships to scale:
- Faster onboarding
- Cleaner operations
- Fewer surprises
- Stronger long-term relationships
Final Thought
Technology enables fintech. Processes sustain it. But intelligence is what keeps it resilient when conditions change. In an industry that moves as fast as this one, the real advantage isn’t knowing everything, it’s knowing what matters, when it matters, and why.
Client service has never been more important. In an era when technology moves fast, and everyone more or less offer the same product, human touch becomes more.
