Fintech demands precision from the very first interaction. A single unclear document, slow reply, or confusing step can disrupt a small business during a moment where timing matters.
In this episode of How to Love a Customer, Olga Arsenii , Head of Customer Insights at Qonto , explains how her team supports users across Europe while the company scales at high speed.
Olga shared how one frustrated customer's onboarding experience became the spark for a company-wide transformation. By listening to customer feedback Olga and her team uncovered hidden friction in their onboarding process and brought everyone—from support agents to C-suite leaders—together to fix it.
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🔑 Five Takeaways
1. Reliability Is the First Expectation
Finance leaves no room for casual mistakes. Customers expect simple digital flows combined with rigorous accuracy, and that combination shapes Qonto’s daily reality. Olga describes this tension as a constant balancing act.
“You need to be fast, but at the same time to not break things, make it right. Those businesses could be so fragile and obviously this is what drives our founders and the whole company to support those business owners, to get in their shoes and to understand what is important to them.”
2. VOC Insights Triggered Fast Cross Functional Fixes
Onboarding feedback revealed a pattern that pointed to customer strain. Some users felt overwhelmed by documentation, while others reached support agents who repeated existing instructions without easing the workload.
“When we detected negative sentiment and deepened the analysis, we realized that we had a problem with the customer support. Some clients were alone with very heavy documentation and when they called, they sometimes felt we were just reading what was already written. This is where having the right people in the room let us solve it in a matter of weeks.”
3. Culture Outperforms Process
Qonto’s environment already valued customer input long before an insights team existed. This mindset allowed Olga to plug into a company that did not need convincing about the value of listening.
“Sometimes it is more culture than frameworks. Before I joined, everyone’s job was customer insights. Everyone picks up the phone, everyone sends surveys, everyone wants to know what clients think. This culture helps my team because feedback becomes a shared responsibility.”
4. Insights Only Matter When Action Starts Immediately
Olga insists that insights sessions should not turn into passive content or polished slide shows. Each meeting must create momentum and move teams closer to a concrete solution.
“The objective is to not be the Netflix of Qonto and just present things. We want the dialogue to start in the same meeting, with operational teams in the room so that ideas can be checked instantly and actions can begin right away.”
5. AI Helps, but Humans Protect Trust
AI supports internal workflows and product features, yet financial support requires a human presence during stressful moments. Qonto continues to place people at the center of complex interactions.
“We still rely on the human touch. Those small business owners need to be accompanied. Yes, we put AI where it helps, but there are moments when a person needs to talk to someone who understands the situation.”
💬 Bonus Hot Takes from Olga
🎯 Overhyped Trend: Full automation in support Olga believes support automation can outrun reality in fintech settings. “AI agents here, AI agents there. Probably not right now.”
🧠 Favorite CX Mindset: Culture over process A strong culture creates faster action than any formal methodology. “Sometimes it is more culture than frameworks.”
🔥 CX Utopia: Human support reserved for the moments that matter most For Olga, automation should lighten workloads, but people should remain present for sensitive customer needs. “Those small business owners need to be accompanied.”
✈️ Brand Shoutout: Amazon and Zalando Olga admires companies that remove friction and build long term trust. “I am a huge fan of Amazon. And Zalando is very good, they thought about any pain point you could have.”
🧳 Why This Episode Matters
Olga’s story shows how CX teams can influence fast moving organisations without relying on heavyweight processes or complex structures. Her approach illustrates the impact of culture, speed, and cross functional coordination inside a regulated environment.
This episode highlights:
- Turning customer strain into rapid organisational action
- Using culture as the engine for insight adoption
- Treating onboarding as a defining moment for long term trust
- Recognising when AI supports customer needs and when people must step in
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