How to sell to IT Directors at Fintech companies
IT Directors in fintech are primarily measured on system uptime and security compliance. They respond to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of the specific regulatory frameworks they must adhere to, such as PCI DSS for payments. Highlighting how your solution mitigates risks or enhances operational efficiency can compel them to engage.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 570 fintech company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- system downtime
- data breach risks
- regulatory compliance stress
- vendor reliability concerns
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent compliance audits
Research your target companies for any recent compliance audits or security assessments. Use platforms like LinkedIn or industry news to find announcements. This shows you understand their current priorities and challenges, making your outreach more relevant.
- 02
Pinpoint technology stack changes
Look for announcements regarding changes in their technology stack, such as migrations to cloud services or new software integrations. Tools like BuiltWith or G2 can provide insights into their current systems, allowing you to tailor your message to their evolving needs.
- 03
Highlight specific security vulnerabilities
Craft your outreach to address specific security vulnerabilities that are common in fintech, such as data breaches or system downtimes. Use examples from industry reports to illustrate these points, demonstrating your understanding of the risks they face.
- 04
Acknowledge regulatory pressures
Mention the increasing regulatory pressures in fintech, such as GDPR or CCPA compliance. IT Directors are often under pressure to ensure their systems align with these regulations, so framing your outreach around how you can assist in compliance can increase your chances of a response.
- 05
Suggest a risk assessment meeting
Propose a brief call to discuss their current risk management strategies and how your insights could enhance their security posture. Be specific about the benefits they could gain from this discussion, such as improved compliance or reduced downtime.
Can fintech companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 570 fintech companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.
Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.
The gap is the finding: 34.3% of 1–10-person companies against 92.2% of the largest — 58 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.
Where does your domain sit?
Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.
How this was measured
Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.
DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.
Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.
Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.
Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.
The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Subject lines that fit
- Addressing your compliance challenges
- Enhancing your security posture
- Mitigating fintech risks together
Questions
- Why do IT Directors in fintech avoid cold emails?
- IT Directors often receive numerous cold outreach emails, many of which lack relevance or specificity. They prioritize communications that demonstrate a clear understanding of their regulatory environment and specific pain points. Generic messages are easily ignored, making it essential to tailor your approach.
- What common objections do IT Directors have?
- IT Directors frequently express concerns about vendor reliability, potential disruption to existing systems, and the ROI of new solutions. They are also cautious about compliance risks associated with third-party tools, making it crucial for sellers to address these objections directly in their outreach.
- How can I demonstrate industry knowledge to IT Directors?
- Showcasing knowledge of current regulatory challenges, recent cybersecurity incidents, and trends in fintech technology can establish credibility. Using case studies or examples that reflect their specific industry challenges will resonate more than generalized statements about technology benefits.
- What timing is best for reaching out to IT Directors?
- The best timing to reach out is often at the beginning of the fiscal year when budgets are being planned or after major compliance deadlines. Additionally, following up after significant industry events or conferences can also yield better engagement rates.
Or have it run itself
SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.
Try it on your site