Product Metrics That Matter in Fintech

In fintech, we don’t have the luxury of building based on gut feeling. Every decision we make needs to be backed by metrics that reflect not only performance and growth, but also trust, regulatory alignment, and product-market fit. Yet, with dashboards overflowing with charts, it’s easy to focus on what is easy to measure instead of what truly matters. So, let’s cut through the noise and talk about the KPIs that move the needle in fintech—whether you’re building a digital wallet, a B2B payment processor, or a lending platform. 

Churn Rate: Your Silent Alarm 

Churn rate (also known as attrition rate) is a key metric that measures the percentage of customers who stop using a product or service over a specific period. In fintech and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) contexts, it's often used to evaluate customer retention and the overall health of a business.  

Churn rate is often treated as just a “retention metric,” but in fintech, it's a direct reflection of trust. Users don’t just leave because the UI is clunky—they leave because transactions failed, support was slow, or they didn’t feel their money was safe. In products where onboarding is complex and trust is critical (think KYC, bank linking, etc.), churn is often preventable if flagged early. 

What to track: 

• Voluntary vs. involuntary churn (e.g. failed payment methods) 
• Churn during onboarding 
• Churn after key lifecycle milestones (first transaction, failed payout, etc.) 

Transaction Success Rate: Your Core Reliability Indicator 

If your users can't move money, you're done. It's that simple. Transaction success rate is a foundational metric in payments and banking. It not only reflects the technical stability of your stack but also how well you’ve architected fallbacks, retries, and integrations. 

A healthy fintech product doesn’t just move money—it does so consistently, transparently, and with minimal friction. Keep an eye not just on successful transactions, but on the reasons behind failed ones: expired cards, bad API calls, or partner bank downtimes can all kill UX and confidence. 

Feature Adoption: Validating Product-Market Fit 

Not all features deserve equal attention. Feature adoption helps you identify where real value lies—and where your roadmap might be drifting off course. In fintech, adoption isn’t just about usage; it’s about whether your features drive revenue, retention, or compliance. 

Want to know if your new budgeting tool matters? Don’t just look at logins—check how many users link accounts, set goals, or follow through on savings. 

Bonus tip: 

Layer adoption data with user segments (e.g., high-LTV users, small business clients, etc.) to prioritize product development with precision. 

 

Compliance KPIs 

Measure your readiness, not just your risks. Compliance is where fintech lives or dies. Regulators don’t care about your growth curve if you can't prove you're secure and auditable. So how do you track this? 

You need compliance metrics that show you're not just meeting the baseline but proactively managing risk: 

• KYC/AML completion rate 
• Dispute resolution timeframes 
• Policy updates implementation windows 
• Number of audit-ready logs per integration 

Integrating these into your dashboards might not be flashy, but it sends a clear signal to investors, partners, and regulators: you’re not playing fintech—you’re building it right. 

Audit-Readiness Metrics: Operational Trust at Scale 

Building an audit trail isn’t just for show—it’s a design philosophy. Every action in your system should be traceable: from who approved a transaction to how a fraud flag was escalated. Metrics here aren’t just about quantity—they’re about consistency and completeness. 

Some examples: 

Percentage of flows with full audit logs 

Time to retrieve and export compliance reports 

Frequency of log validation tests 

This is especially critical as you scale and work with larger institutions or enter regulated markets. 

Metrics that Inspire Confidence 

Ultimately, great fintech metrics do more than optimize performance—they build confidence across your users, compliance teams, and stakeholders. Track what matters: how well you serve, protect, and evolve with your customers. Whether you’re launching a new product or scaling an established one, the KPIs above will keep you grounded in what truly drives value. 

And remember: data is only as useful as the actions it inspires. Don’t just measure—listen, learn, and adapt. 

Want help defining and tracking the right metrics for your fintech platform? 

OceanoBe works with fintech innovators to build, scale, and optimize digital financial services. Let’s make your data work smarter. Contact us today.