Finance is missing dignity as a design principle.

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of speaking at The University of Auckland Business School's panel on "Trust in Finance and the Rise of Fintech" the first in their new Juncture: Dialogues on Inclusive Capitalism series.

Dr Drew Franklin posed a question that allowed me to speak to the heart of my view on how the financial system can serve people, planet, and profit. "Becki, you're at the coalface of fintech innovation. What fundamental truth are we missing when we design financial products?"

My answer: Finance is missing dignity as a design principle.

Finance has long been designed by, and for, those already inside the system. The result? Products that are opaque, complex, and exclusionary, especially to those already on the back foot.

At Tax Traders, dignity isn't a soft concept. It's a performance driver. When people feel seen and respected, they engage more, trust more, and thrive more.

As I shared with the panel, dignity starts with meeting people where they are and recognising that complexity is OUR failure, not theirs. It means designing WITH communities who've previously been excluded: rural communities, women, Māori and Pacific peoples, neurodivergent users, refugees and more because their insights reveal where our assumptions break down. Building with wider communities shows us the theory of the ‘rational actor’ is a myth.

The average reading age in New Zealand is 12-13 years old, and financial literacy levels remain stubbornly low. Yet we build products requiring far higher comprehension and then wonder why people are excluded. Saying "People should know better” or “'it's all there in the terms and conditions” comes from a position of privilege that ignores the ecosystem finance sits within and the reality of our society.

One-size-fits-all is really one-size-fits-none. True financial inclusion demands culturally aware, human-centred design that honours different ways of thinking about money, family, and future. When we build with dignity, not just efficiency, we expand what's possible for both individuals and our economy.

The biggest risk in fintech isn't technical breaches. It's building products that embed bias and entrench disadvantage. When we digitise the same assumptions that have historically excluded people, we don't just replicate those failures, we amplify them at speed and scale. Without dignity as our north star, innovation becomes oppression with better UX.

What became evident during our discussion, alongside brilliant minds like Raghavendra R., Chanelle Duley, Christopher Swasbrook, and Decio N., was how ready the room was for this conversation. The appetite for finance that serves people and planet is real.

What if tech was built to meet people where they are, not the other way around?