Wednesday Shines a Light on Subscriptions and Fintech

Nostalgia was reimagined this winter as the 1960s classic, The Addams Family, was given a refreshed take in a live-action series focused on Wednesday Addams. Wednesday darkened our screens with mystery and dark humour on November 23^rd and has surpassed Squid Game and Stranger Things with over 1.02 billion viewing hours in the first three weeks of its debut. The record-breaking series exists as proof of how subscription-based platforms have taken our world (and wallets) by storm, with over 8.6 million active mobile subscriptions last year alone globally. Gone are the days that people trapse to Blockbusters and alike, but with a variety of subscription services available, we rapidly approach the precipice as people reach the maximum number of subscriptions that they are willing to uphold. Netflix is our prime example as they lost over a million subscribers in 2022, before regaining over two million subscriptions by October. The combination of hyper-competition and increasing access to technology has empowered subscription services, such as Disney+, who had 28.6 million subscribers within 3 months of its launch, with approximately 152 million currently. Most recently there has been expansion of Disney+ subscribers within European and African countries because of rapid digitalisation globally, bringing access to areas which were once scarce and payment options that better suit peoples’ financial positions. With this ongoing battle of streaming platforms in an accessible world, much like the fencing between Wednesday and Bianca, every move can make or break the players’ strategy. Whether it’s from the quality and popularity of content or payment options and subscription contract terms, the need for a finetuned product from start to finish is essential to get subscribers.

All in Jest: Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams

But why, you ask, is Unlimit talking about this hit show, and where does fintech come in with subscriptions? Well for one, the newly favourite show Wednesday brought a creative comparison which demonstrates the dynamic we play as fintechs behind the scenes of non-financial services.

Imagine your streaming subscription providers to be like Enid: bright, colourful, and endearing with their unique likeability to the masses. Whereas the fintechs of today would (in a less doom and gloom kind of way) resonate more with Wednesday: showing pragmaticism, forward thinking and reliability to those who are around us. We see Wednesday enter her new school, being surrounded by those who don’t seem to understand her, but nonetheless her transparent nature builds a connection with everyone she comes close to. The place of fintechs in modern-day society is built upon the ability to offer honesty and transparency in a world where consumers have felt deprived of it thus far. Much like Wednesday, our inability to scheme or falter from the truth comes from a place of understanding and drive to resolve problems of the present. Wednesday’s ability to connect is a simplified picture of how we correlate to services like subscription services, making a pairing you wouldn’t have necessarily thought of. Much like the unlikely partnership of Enid and Wednesday, we see fintechs partnering with more goods and services providers to plugging the gaps and bringing access to the masses.

Subscriptions and fintech

So where does fintech come into the world of subscriptions? Subscription economy rose to exceptional heights during the pandemic, with more users seeking pleasure in video and music. Businesses beyond TV and music also ventured into the subscription space with reading content, meal boxes, pet supplies and more. The popularity increased as the pandemic brought about a greater need for digital-friendly human connection, like group streaming services. From a consumer perspective, we saw the convenience of subscriptions as it removed the need for a lump sum pay-out, and ease of use without thinking of manually entering payments each month.

Whilst Wednesday graced the screens of those with a Netflix account, we’ve seen competition rising with other streaming subscriptions offering exclusive shows across platforms such as Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix and AppleTV. Fortune Business Insights calculated that the global streaming market was worth 372 billion in 2021, with a year-on-year growth expectancy of 19.9% until 2030. But subscribers are still in need of a better business model that is consumer oriented and satiates the value they seek in a product, and businesses need a sophisticated provider to support the streamlining of multiple revenue pathways as they seek new ways of increasing profit margins with growing competition. How can this be achieved?  Fintechs and subscription services go hand in hand, with fintechs offering financial expertise and fund management to a creative service that obtains revenue through multiple channels (e.g. advertising and subscriptions), at a global level. And despite Wednesday’s demure approach to, well, everything, she adheres to a key trait that is valued by consumers now more than ever – transparency. Her roaring reviews and presence in the Netflix Top 10 chart are proof of her desirable nature. Now speaking as the fintech equivalent of Wednesday, we’ve noticed that subscription service companies who continue to offer full transparency of their services, are more likely to retain customers who are likely to agree to a continued subscription. It’s no surprise that hidden fees and changing terms will deter customers. And so, in the hyper-competitive market, the opportunity of carefully cultivated subscription offerings can encourage customer loyalty.

Outdated processes and high-commitment payment plans are a thing of the past, and for products and services which haven’t progressed with technology their customer numbers are being halted. We imagine these merchants to be like Joseph Crackstone in Wednesday, when he said “I will not stop until I have expunged this New World of every outcast”. Much like Crackstone, the only outcasts we tend to see now are those who try to avoid technological progression and get left behind. Lack of innovation is leaving businesses in positions of high-risk against financial crime and wavering customer loyalty, as consumers seek more efficient and cost-effective services.

More recently we see service providers reaching for solutions to simplify subscription processes, satiating the consumer desire to enter and exit a contract at the drop of a hat. Additionally, new innovations and technologies in open banking can simplify the sign-up process for customers, whilst also protecting merchants and service providers against payment bumps such as failed payments and claims. Through partnerships of innovations and services, subscription-based products are not only able to collate improved data for their product offering but send payment due reminders and offer customers a ‘click to cancel’ feature; ultimately placing the customer at the centre of control. The integration of new processes, such as open banking, would even simplify the payment chain an allow businesses to charge and receive payments directly from bank-to-bank.

The Future of Subscriptions with Fintech

“I have a strange feeling the answers to my future lies in the past” – episode three.

In the growth of digitalisation and increasing competition, we see streaming platforms seeking technological support and solutions to add to profit margins and combat struggles from the competitive market. Despite Netflix’s growth which we saw in the latter side of the year, technologies are being used to enhance their product offering and money management. We have seen that Netflix will be partnering with Microsoft to help generate revenue through advertisements at a global level, and they’ll also be trialling a ‘add a home’ feature where subscribers can charge users who they share their Netflix account with. And so, it comes as no surprise that with diverse avenues of income, there is a greater need for a simplified solution to streamline the revenue pathways and learn from recurring issues of the past, much like Wednesday in episode three. Open banking, for instance, is a tried and tested innovation to support with ecommerce businesses and could allow users to connect their regular payments in one place for ease of access and simultaneously allow service providers to benefit from greater data provision.

As with many products and services requiring digital payments and information or a ‘card on file’ payment approach, there is a rising number of fraudulent activity and targeting from criminals. Particularly in the subscription-based services, the high pressure from bulging capacities on outdated payment integrations opens businesses and their customers to fraud-based crimes. And without rapid adaptation and enhancement of systems and processes, subscription traps will cause people to fall in and become apprehensive to subscribe to genuine products. Solutions with open banking technologies, as mentioned above, are likely to become prevalent in the world of subscriptions as they remove elongated processes and offer heightened security.

More recently we see an increasing implementation of blockchain technologies into industries, particularly for its desirable security levels. The proof-of-stake blockchain model could pose a challenge against the subscription economy in the near future, as it could bring a payment model which revolutionises subscriptions as we know them. Rather than people having to subscribe to an entire service, they could make one off transactions and subscriptions to particular shows, topics, artists and content. Such a model would bring access to millions of people with ‘micropayments’, who are unable to commit to larger monthly sums, and with blockchain technology customers would be able to steer away from fiat currencies and pay in crypto. In essence, the future of subscriptions is dependent on fintech solutions and innovations to open up a bigger market access for all, and much like Wednesday Addams, it is fintechs who exude the creative genius to solve the subscription riddle.