The UK Fintech PPC Blueprint: Scale Ads & Stay Compliant

If you’re running a fintech company in the UK, you probably feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one side, you have the frantic need for growth—investors want to see users, transaction volume, and AUM going up. On the other side, you have the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the ad platforms themselves (Google, Meta, LinkedIn) making it incredibly difficult to actually say anything interesting.

I’ve seen it a dozen times. A London-based fintech founder hires a "top-rated" digital agency. The agency makes beautiful creative, promises the world, and launches the campaign. Two days later, the ads are disapproved. A week later, the ad account is suspended for "Circumventing Systems" or "Unacceptable Business Practices." Or, even if the ads run, they’re bringing in leads at £200 a pop that never convert because the copy sounds like it was written by a robot trying to avoid a lawsuit.

Finding the right partner is tricky. You don't just need a "PPC agency". You need someone who understands that in finance, trust is the currency, and compliance is the law. You need experts who know how to hire real experts in London paid ads without falling for the sales pitch.

The "Generalist" Trap: Why Standard Agencies Fail Fintech

Most agencies operate on a template. They have a playbook for eCommerce, a playbook for local lead gen, and maybe a playbook for generic SaaS. But fintech breaks all those templates.

Here’s the issue: A generalist agency treats your financial product like a pair of socks or a project management tool. They focus on "benefits" and "urgency." In fintech, urgency looks like a scam. "Get rich quick" or "Instant approval" are triggers for ad platforms to ban you.

I remember auditing an account for a financial client where the previous agency was running Facebook ads targeting a very broad audience with aggressive copy. It got clicks, but it also got their ad account flagged for misleading claims and attracted a load of users who weren't qualified. The agency didn't understand that for this client, "high traffic" was actually a bad thing if it wasn't the right kind of traffic.

To avoid wasting budget like this, you really need a blueprint to stop wasting spend before you even scale.

The Regulatory Elephant: Dealing with the FCA and Ad Policies

This is where the rubber meets the road. In the UK, financial promotions are heavily regulated. If you are promoting credit, crypto, investment products, or insurance, you have strict rules to follow.

A good fintech PPC agency won't just ask you for creative; they will ask you for your compliance sign-off process. They should know that:

• Risk Warnings are mandatory: You can't just hide them in the footer. They often need to be in the ad creative itself.
• Targeting restrictions: You can't target minors, and for certain high-risk products, you have to be very careful about targeting vulnerable audiences.
• Google's Financial Services Verification: If an agency doesn't mention this in the first meeting, run. You literally cannot run financial ads in the UK on Google without being verified by the FCA or having an exemption.

It’s a minefield. I’ve worked with clients where we had to rewrite ad copy five times to satisfy the legal team, and then another three times to satisfy Google's automated bots. It requires patience and a specific skill set.

Understanding the Cost per Acquisition (CPA) in UK Finance

Let's be brutal about the costs. Advertising finance in the UK is expensive. Keywords like "best isa rates", "business loan", or "accounting software" are some of the most competitive in the world. You are competing against high street banks with bottomless pockets (Barclays, HSBC) and established fintech giants (Revolut, Monzo, Wise).

If you go into this thinking you’ll get leads for £5, you’re going to be disappointed.

However, the Cost Per Lead (CPL) or Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is only expensive if your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is low. This is the metric that matters. If a business customer stays with your payment platform for 5 years and generates £500 a month in fees, you can afford to spend £2,000 to acquire them. A generalist agency will freak out at a £100 click. A specialist will know it's a bargain if the conversion rate is right.

If you're targeting businesses specifically, say for a SaaS accounting tool or a B2B payment gateway, understanding the landscape of London B2B SaaS ads on Google and LinkedIn is crucial. The costs are higher, but the intent is there.

We worked with a Medical Job Matching SaaS where the CPA was initially around £100, but through optimization, we reduced it to £7. Conversely, for a B2C app, we’ve driven installs for under £2, but the retention was the hard part.

You need to run the numbers yourself. Use the calculator below to see what you can actually afford.

Targeting the Right People: It's Not Just About Keywords

In fintech, specifically B2B fintech, your audience is often niche. You might be looking for CFOs, risk managers, or high-net-worth individuals.

A common mistake is relying too heavily on broad keywords. If you target "investment", you get students looking for definitions, people looking for crypto scams, and maybe one or two actual investors. You need a strategy that filters the noise.

For B2B, LinkedIn Ads is usually the go-to, despite being expensive. You can target by job title (e.g., "Head of Payments"), industry, and company size. But don't sleep on Meta (Facebook/Instagram). With the right data enrichment and offline conversion tracking, we've found Meta can actually outperform LinkedIn for cost-efficiency, even for B2B audiences. It requires a sophisticated setup though—using lookalikes based on qualified leads, not just site visitors.

If you are trying to reach wealthy individuals for wealth management or private banking, you need a different approach entirely. It's about subtle signals and geographic targeting. Check out our guide on targeting high net worth clients with Google Ads for a deeper dive into that specific rabbit hole.

Building Trust: The "Zero-Click" Hurdle

This is my biggest gripe with most advertising I see in this sector. It assumes the user trusts you. They don't. You are a random company on the internet asking for their money or their sensitive data.

Your ad creative shouldn't just sell the product; it needs to sell the safety of the product.

• Social Proof: Don't just say "Trusted by thousands." Show the Trustpilot rating in the image. Show the logos of the partners you work with.
• Educational Content: Sometimes the best ad isn't an ad at all. It's a piece of content that explains a complex financial problem. We found that for a B2B software client, offering a free trial or valuable resource generated registrations for as low as $2.38, proving that the right value proposition is key.
• The Landing Page: If your landing page looks like a generic WordPress template, you’re dead in the water. It needs to look enterprise-grade. It needs to load instantly. It needs clear privacy policies and FCA registration numbers visible in the footer.

It's vital to get the London growth marketing services mix right—combining paid ads with solid content and a trustworthy brand presence.

What to Look for in an Agency (The Checklist)

So, you're ready to hire. You're talking to a few agencies. Don't let them dazzle you with jargon. Ask them these specific questions:

1. "How do you handle FCA compliance?"
If they say "We just follow the guidelines," that's weak. They should talk about their internal review process, how they work with your compliance officer, and their experience with disclaimers and risk warnings.

2. "What is your experience with Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT)?"
In fintech, a lead is not a sale. A lead might be declined for credit, or fail KYC (Know Your Customer) checks. If the agency is optimising for "leads" and not "approved accounts," they are wasting your money. They need to know how to feed back the quality data into Google or Meta so the algorithm finds more approved customers, not just more applicants.

3. "Can you show me a case study with a similar CPA target?"
Look for relevant experience. We've managed campaigns generating leads for B2B software at $22/lead and huge volume B2C app installs. The strategy for each is wildly different.

4. "Do you understand the UK market specifically?"
The UK is unique. We have Open Banking, we have ISAs, we have specific tax years. An agency based in the US might not get the nuance of an "ISA season" campaign in March/April. Make sure they know how to plan your budget for London ad costs.

My Recommendations

If you are struggling to lower CAC while staying compliant, you likely need a specialist. A generalist agency might be cheaper on the monthly retainer, but they will cost you a fortune in wasted ad spend and potential regulatory fines.

I've detailed my main recommendations for vetting an agency below:

Navigating the fintech landscape in the UK is tough, but with the right partner, it’s arguably the most scalable vertical there is. Once you crack the code of Compliance + Trust + Targeting, you can scale massively.

If you're unsure where your current strategy is failing, or if you just want a second pair of eyes on your ad account to see if you're overpaying, it might be worth getting a professional opinion. We offer a free initial consultation where we can review your current setup and give you an honest assessment of what's working and what isn't. No sales pitch, just expertise.