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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Episode Notes:
0:00 — Why Customer Insights Matter at Qonto
Olga introduces Qonto’s culture of treating customer insight as everyone’s job — not just a research function.
01:00 — From Global Research Roles to FinTech CX
Her journey from Ipsos/GfK to Deezer to Qonto, and why B2B banking is becoming “the new B2C.”
03:00 — What Qonto Is & Why CX Is Critical in Business Finance
A European finance solution for freelancers and SMEs across 8+ countries. In FinTech, reliability + speed = customer trust.
05:00 — The Problem: Onboarding Felt Overwhelming
Chattermill data revealed consistent negative sentiment: too many documents, confusing steps, and support mismatches created friction.
07:00 — The Cross-Team Fix
Leadership, ops, support, and insights joined forces to redesign onboarding. Strong internal alignment → faster problem solving.
10:00 — A Culture Where Insights Don’t Need “Selling”
At Qonto, customer problems trigger immediate collaboration. Insight activation is expected, not optional.
11:00 — How the Team Found the Issue
No single complaint — but volume patterns. Cross-channel analysis showed exactly where onboarding dropped customer confidence.
12:30 — Prioritising Work in a New Insights Function
Still only months old, the Insights team focuses on funnel performance, journey stages, and continuous customer signals.
16:00 — Why Churn Starts Before Churn
Issues during awareness or onboarding predict cancellation months later. Fixing early moments prevents downstream pain.
17:30 — Qonto’s Approach to AI in CX
AI accelerates workflows and supports agents — but empathy remains critical. Automation is useful, not a replacement.
20:00 — Turning Insight Into Action
Workshops, co-creation, and real-time presentations ensure product and ops teams start planning fixes immediately.
22:00 — Democratising Insights (Without Chaos)
Olga balances expert-led research with self-service summaries and dashboards teams can use without drowning in raw data.
24:00 — Building a Track Record of Wins
Success stories (like onboarding improvements) build internal trust and pave the way for bigger strategic projects.
25:30 — Hot Takes & Inspirations
CX trends she’d retire: overusing “delight” and overhyping AI agents.
Brands she admires: Amazon (reliability) & Zalando (end-to-end experience + feedback culture).
