<p>You’re writing copy for a B2B fintech product. You have the standard advice: use the PAS framework. Problem, Agitate, Solve. It feels right. It feels structured. You list the problem—“Slow payment processing.” You agitate it—“Your cash flow is dying a slow death.” You solve it—“Use our fast new API.”</p>
<p>Then you hit publish, and nothing happens.</p>
<p>This is the cold truth of fintech marketing: your builders don't respond to emotional pressure. They respond to quantified risk and defined reward. They are engineers, CFOs, and compliance officers. They are allergic to the standard marketing playbook. They hate being agitated. They just want the clear, deterministic system they were promised.</p>
<p>The original PAS model works on fear and relief. In fintech, this approach backfires. It triggers their internal BS detector. Your audience isn't thinking, "Oh no, my problem is worse than I thought!" They are thinking, "Is this vendor compliant? What is the integration effort? What happens if this fails?"</p>
<p>The conventional PAS model is a psychological tool. We need a system-level tool. We need to upgrade PAS for the builder mindset. We need the Risk/Reward Filter.</p>
<p><em>Short on time? Scroll to the Risk/Reward Content Builder section for a copy-paste prompt.</em></p>
<h2 >Upgrade your pas fintech copy with the risk/reward filter to convert skeptical builders</h2>
<p>The original PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solve) is a linear path designed for impulse decisions. The new model—The Risk/Reward Filter—is a decision gate designed for due diligence. It assumes your reader is skeptical, competent, and primarily concerned with two variables: What will this <em>cost</em> me (Risk), and what will it <em>earn</em> me (Reward)?</p>
<p>The three phases are:</p>
<p><h3>Phase 1: Quantify the Unknown Risk (QUR)</h3></p>
<p>Forget the generic problem. Identify the specific, quantifiable risk your target currently accepts by doing nothing. This is the real, measurable cost of their current system.</p>
<p><h3>Phase 2: Establish the Defined Reward (EDR)</h3></p>
<p>Replace agitation with a promise of a specific, measurable outcome. This isn't “more money”; it's a fixed-number benefit that offsets the risk you just identified.</p>
<p><h3>Phase 3: Prove Systemic Solvability (PSS)</h3></p>
<p>The “Solve” is not a call to action. It is a proof point. It shows the internal system (the “how”) that makes the reward deterministic. This removes implementation risk.</p>
<p>You can use this framework right now. Take the most painful piece of copy on your homepage and spend one hour rewriting it using QUR, EDR, and PSS. That's a small win you can achieve today.</p>
<h2>QUR: Quantify the unknown risk</h2>
<p>Founders often focus on feature problems: “Our API is faster.” But builders focus on systemic risk: “What is the cost of my current slow API?” They aren't worried about speed in the abstract. They are worried about the $20,000 lost monthly to chargebacks, or the 100 developer hours wasted on maintenance.</p>
<p>You must translate the feature gap into a dollar-per-second, dollar-per-transaction, or hour-per-month risk.</p>
<h3>The cost of compliance drift</h3>
<p>For a regulatory compliance SaaS, don't say: “Compliance is hard.” Say: “Every month your compliance framework drifts, you increase your audit fine risk by an average of 4%.”</p>
<p>This is cold. This is specific. It is an unsoftened truth that a CTO will immediately recognize. You are not trying to scare them; you are giving them the data they need to justify a purchase.</p>
<p><strong>Actionable Step:</strong> If you are selling to technical operators, ask your product team for one specific metric that quantifies the failure mode of the status quo. If you don't have this number, don't write this copy yet. <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-define-your-target-audience">Define your target audience</a> metrics first.</p>
<h2>EDR: Establish the defined reward</h2>
<p>The job of agitation in old copy was to make the reader desperate. The job of EDR is to make the reader feel competent. They aren't buying relief; they are buying an engineered outcome. They need to know the integration will be net-positive, not just a lateral move.</p>
<h3>Reward is a guarantee, not a guess</h3>
<p>Your solution needs to offer a reward that is proportional to the quantified risk. If the risk is $20,000 in monthly chargebacks, the reward should be a path to reducing that by 80% or more, stated clearly. Not “Better chargeback protection,” but “Reduce chargeback losses by 83% in the first 90 days.”</p>
<p>This is where the conventional wisdom on “selling benefits” goes wrong. The benefit must be a <em>defined system change</em>. You are giving the reader permission to ignore any advice that tells them to use vague benefit language.</p>
<p><strong>Actionable Step:</strong> Map your top feature to a single, provable, time-bound metric. If your product simplifies KYC checks, the defined reward is “Reduce KYC time-to-completion from 48 hours to 3 minutes.” It's a clear, positive system change.</p>
<h2>PSS: Prove systemic solvability</h2>
<p>The biggest risk in B2B fintech is implementation. Builders don't trust promises. They trust systems. The PSS phase of the Risk/Reward Filter doesn't just state the solution; it briefly explains the mechanism that makes the solution inevitable.</p>
<p>This is your chance to use specificity to build trust. If you are selling an embedded finance API, don't just say “easy integration.”</p>
<h3>Show the wiring diagram</h3>
<p>Instead, explain <em>why</em> it is easy. “We solved the complexity problem with a dedicated, single-endpoint webhook listener that cuts setup time by 92%. Our solution runs on AWS Lambda, guaranteeing 99.999% uptime.”</p>
<p>This is <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/psychology-of-persuasion-in-marketing">psychology of persuasion</a> for the technical mind. The “Solve” is a demonstration of engineering superiority, not an emotional plea. It’s what makes a technical founder feel competent again—they can actually implement this thing without catastrophic failure.</p>
<p><strong>Actionable Step:</strong> Look at your existing documentation. Pull one sentence that describes a specific architecture or feature that minimizes integration effort. Use that sentence as your PSS proof point. Review your <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/value-proposition-examples">value proposition examples</a> for clarity.</p>
<h2>The risk/reward content builder</h2>
<p>The goal is to generate concrete, high-momentum copy assets you can deploy right now. This prompt uses the Risk/Reward Filter to output immediately deployable copy.</p>
<h2>Fintech Copy Asset Generator</h2>
<p>I am launching a B2B fintech product: [YOUR PRODUCT]. Our target customer is: [YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER]. The greatest unknown risk they currently accept is: [SPECIFIC QUANTIFIABLE RISK, e.g., "manual reconciliation costs $15k per month"]. Our defined reward is: [SPECIFIC MEASURABLE OUTCOME, e.g., "automated reconciliation cutting labor time by 90%"].</p>
<p>Using the Risk/Reward Filter (QUR, EDR, PSS), generate the following three copy assets in Vonnegut-style voice, emphasizing systemic clarity and proof over emotion:</p>
<p>1. A 70-character Twitter/LinkedIn post headline (QUR focus).</p>
<p>2. A 150-word landing page hero section body (EDR focus).</p>
<p>3. A three-part email sequence for a skeptical CTO (PSS focus).</p>
<p><strong>Example Output (Asset 2):</strong></p>
<p>Your manual payment rails are costing you $180,000 a year in unnecessary latency and compliance drift. We built an API that eliminates 87% of that manual effort on Day 1. It is not magic; it is deterministic routing logic deployed globally. You don't need a new strategy; you need better plumbing. We provide the 3-line code snippet that brings your risk exposure down immediately. Start your integration in under an hour.</p>
<p>This is just one of the LiftKit prompts designed to turn strategic frameworks into deployable marketing assets.</p>
<h2>FAQ</h2>
<h3 >Q: Is PAS still relevant for other marketing channels?</h3>
<p>A: The core logic—identify pain, increase tension, offer relief—is a fundamental <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/psychology-of-persuasion-in-marketing">psychology of persuasion in marketing</a>. However, for technical audiences, “agitation” must be replaced with “quantified risk definition.” If you are selling B2C or low-cost products, the classic PAS is more effective. But for systems built by builders, use the Risk/Reward filter for higher momentum.</p>
<h3 >Q: How do I choose the single “unknown risk” to focus on?</h3>
<p>A: You can’t build a <a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/learn/how-to-build-a-marketing-strategy">marketing strategy</a> around 20 problems. Use the Constraint Filter: focus on the one risk that, if solved, unlocks the highest perceived value for the builder. This is usually related to security, latency, or regulatory compliance—the things that stop them from sleeping. If you solve their existential fear, they will pay.</p>
<h3 >Q: Can I use this framework if my product is pre-revenue?</h3>
<p>A: Yes. Instead of using post-hoc metrics, use industry benchmarks and public case studies to establish QUR and EDR. For instance, if your product prevents failed transactions, cite the public average failure rate for manual processes, then define your reward as a deviation from that industry average. It is an act of engineering documentation, not salesmanship.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Start running operator-grade marketing in under an hour.</h2>
<p>LiftKit is the only strategy-first AI marketing system built for founders. It distills the same Fortune-500 frameworks used at Apple, Stripe, and McKinsey into a simple, actionable playbook you can run in under an hour.</p>
<p>Stop tinkering with tactics. Start operating with strategy.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://getliftkit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get LiftKit</a></strong></p>
<h2>Keep learning</h2>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Frameworks</strong></a>: Learn proven mental models to diagnose, prioritise, and scale marketing outcomes.</p>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/channels" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Channels</strong></a>: Understand which acquisition paths actually work and how to deploy them strategically.</p>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/messaging" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Messaging</strong></a>: Build positioning, angle, and copy that converts without guesswork.</p>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Strategy</strong></a>: Make smarter decisions using operator-grade prompts and structured thinking.</p>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/tools" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Tools</strong></a>: Use AI, automation, and practical templates to move faster.</p>
<p><a href="https://learn.getliftkit.com/research" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Research</strong></a>: Tap into market insights, psychology, and patterns that drive effective marketing.</p>
<script type='application/ld+json'>
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Pas fintech: the risk/reward filter for b2b financial copy",
"description": "Upgrade your pas fintech copy with the risk/reward filter to convert skeptical builders",
"articleSection": "frameworks",
"keywords": "pas fintech, pas,fintech,copywriting",
"author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" },
"publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "LiftKit" },
"url": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/pas-fintech",
"mainEntityOfPage": "https://learn.getliftkit.com/frameworks/pas-fintech"
}
</script>
