As the UK’s Disability History Month (14 November – 20 December) started yesterday, Prerna Goel, Founding Member of Project Nemo, writes for Payment Expert why the fintech sector needs to focus more on disability inclusion in a sector that has hung its hat on being progressive and forward-thinking.
Disruption, innovation, accessibility. Three words that it seems every fintech mission statement is peppered with. The sector prides itself on challenging the status quo and rightly celebrates breaking down barriers to financial services.
Yet when it comes to disability inclusion, our industry is one of many which remains disappointingly traditional. Across all sectors, just 54% of working age disabled individuals are employed, compared to 82% of non-disabled people. These are disappointing statistics, and represent thousands of talented individuals whose perspectives and skills remain untapped.
More troubling is that this gap shows little sign of closing, despite growing calls for transformation and change.
What’s more, this is a trend that will only intensify as our global population ages and faces more health challenges. Disability inclusion isn’t just another workplace initiative —it’s an inevitable aspect of our future workforce that we must face head on.
The cost of silence
The fintech sector’s hesitation around disability inclusion stems largely from fear. Fear of getting it wrong; fear of saying the wrong thing; fear of the unknown. This paralysis of action manifests itself in myriad ways, from recruitment processes that unintentionally exclude disabled candidates, to digital products that fail to consider accessibility.
What’s particularly striking is that while organisations increasingly acknowledge the importance of diversity and inclusion, disability usually sits at the bottom of the list, overlooked and under prioritised. Rather than have what some consider an awkward conversation, many choose to withdraw and not engage at all. This silence comes at a considerable cost, both moral and commercial.
The purple pound—representing the spending power of disabled individuals and their families — amounts to £274bn per annum in the UK alone, and a staggering $13trn globally. By failing to include disabled perspectives in our product development and user experience design, we’re not just failing on ethical terms—we’re alienating a massive market segment.
Creating lasting change
Addressing this challenge requires more than surface-level commitments or tick-box exercises. It demands a rethink of how we approach talent acquisition, product development and workplace culture. The solutions, contrary to common misconceptions, need not be costly or complex. Often, the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference.
Consider the recruitment life cycle. For non-disabled candidates, there are typically three potential points of failure: location, job title, and salary. But as Cressida Stephenson, an inclusive talent specialist and DEI educator, explains, there are many more for disabled candidates – from accessibility to workplace culture.
This stark difference stems from years of accumulated discrimination and negative experiences. Disabled candidates research potential employers extensively before applying, looking for authentic commitment to inclusion, rather than mere lip service.
The path forward requires genuine leadership commitment and accountability. This isn’t delegating responsibility to HR or diversity teams – it must be driven from the top, with clear goals and measurable outcomes. Progressive organisations are already embedding inclusive hiring metrics into management performance indicators and making it everyone’s responsibility, rather than a siloed initiative.
Looking outside of fintech, we can take inspiration from the wider tech sector: one of the industries leading the way.
Microsoft exemplifies what’s possible when companies truly commit to disability inclusion. Recognising that neurodivergent candidates often struggle in traditional interview processes, they have implemented separate hiring programmes for neurodivergent candidates, with non-traditional interview formats designed to better gauge potential and showcase candidates’ strengths. This consideration carries through to the onboarding process, hiring and training in cohorts with programmes designed to support specific needs.
These programmes, along with their appointment of a Chief Accessibility Officer, demonstrate how structural changes can drive innovation. Their philosophy is simple but powerful: you cannot create products and services for everyone if you don’t employ everyone.
Digital accessibility is both a challenge and an opportunity. Fintech is a sector inherently reliant on digital. Making these services accessible is about creating the best user experience for everyone. Incorporating accessible features and multiple pathways benefits all customers and helps accommodate personal preferences and as well as accessibility needs.
When we include disabled technologists in our development teams, we gain valuable perspectives and lived experience that can drive innovation and improve usability for all users.
The irony isn’t lost on those of us working at the intersection of fintech and inclusion. While we build products meant to serve everyone, we’re failing to include everyone in their creation.
This oversight isn’t just limiting our talent pool; it’s fundamentally hampering our ability to build truly universal financial services.
There are organisations out there aiming to accelerate change, but it can’t be achieved by one solution or group alone. It requires collective action, shared learning, and a willingness to sometimes get things wrong in the pursuit of getting them right. But the time for hesitation is over. We cannot claim to be ‘disrupting’ financial services while maintaining traditional barriers to inclusion.
The success of our sector has been defined by challenging conventional wisdom and finding better ways of doing things. It’s time we applied that same innovative spirit to disability inclusion.
After all, if we’re truly committed to democratising finance, shouldn’t we ensure our own industry is accessible first?
