Fintech partnerships chosen on evidence, not on the pitch.

Fintech partnerships are the commercial and technical arrangements in which a fintech relies on a bank, processor or platform for capabilities it does not build itself. Choosing fintech partnerships well means screening candidates on four criteria: technical fit, reach, terms and execution risk. Nextyn compares candidate partners side by side from interviews with their current clients and payments experts, so the choice rests on evidence, not on the pitch. Bank partnerships, processor contracts and platform integrations are all screened the same way.

A Nextyn partner selection study delivers three outputs: a ranked partner shortlist, a scorecard on fit, reach, terms and execution risk, and delivery risk notes on each shortlisted partner. Each output comes from primary interviews with the people who work with each candidate, not from partners' own sales material:

• Ranked shortlist: the banks, processors or platforms that fit, in the order to approach them
• Scorecard: every candidate scored on the same four criteria
• Risk notes: where each shortlisted partner's delivery is likely to slip, and why

Nextyn interviews the four groups who know how a bank, processor or platform performs in practice: its current clients, integration leads, payments executives and industry experts. Each study draws its sample around the candidate partners, the partner types and the markets in scope:

• Current clients of each candidate, on delivery, service and terms
• Engineering and integration leads who have built on the partner
• Payments and fintech executives, from 2,000+ reachable CxOs
• Industry experts on bank and processor partnerships, from 500+ on call

Nextyn runs fintech partner selection research in the United Kingdom, across Europe and in North America, among other markets. Markets are agreed at scoping and follow where the partner must operate, so a single-country bank search and a multi-market processor choice are screened on the same criteria. Nextyn's payments practice has completed 250+ assignments across 30 markets, with 2,000+ payments and fintech CxOs reachable for interviews.

Nextyn recommends starting fintech partner selection before signing with any bank, processor or platform, while terms are still open and candidates can be compared. Once a contract and an integration are underway, moving away from a partner that cannot deliver is slow and costly. Other triggers include entry into a new market, a current partner missing delivery dates and a product that needs a capability the current partner lacks. Nextyn sends a research plan within 48 hours of the brief.

A Nextyn partner selection project runs in four steps, from brief to read-out, and nothing is commissioned until the client approves the plan. The client sees the sample, method and price before any fieldwork, and reads every interview with the Nextyn team at the end.

1. Submit the brief: the capability needed, the candidate partners and the markets in scope.
2. Receive a plan within 48 hours: who Nextyn will interview, how, and what the work costs.
3. Approve the plan: fieldwork starts only after sign-off.
4. Review the read-out: every interview read together, showing where sources agree, where they conflict and what is still open.

Nextyn sends a partner selection research plan within 48 hours of receiving the brief, stating who will be interviewed, how, and what the work costs. The plan sets the fieldwork length for the number of candidate partners and markets in scope, so a three-partner comparison and a wider market scan each get their own timeline. Nothing is commissioned until the plan is approved, and the read-out ends in a ranked shortlist.

Nextyn's partner selection research screens every candidate on the same four criteria, using interviews with their current clients, while a partner's sales material shows that partner at its best. The pitch describes what a partner promises, and the research shows how the partner delivers for clients like you.