Replay: The Science (and Fiction) of Friction
👀 Watch the Replay
Alex Johnson, Fintech Takes, with Tomás Campos, CEO, Spinwheel. Recorded September 30, 2026.
💡 Every step a lending team adds or cuts is a bet on friction, and most of those bets rest on instinct. Alex and Tomás explore friction from the perspective of the consumer, the fintech company, and the bank (and where friction adds value and where it backfires), then turn to what changes when agents act on customers' behalf. If you've ever fought over friction in a product review (whether you argued for more verification or fewer steps, or have watched conversion and lead quality pull in different directions), this one's for you.
🧠 Key takeawaysCopy anchor linkCopied
1. Not all friction is the same kind of frictionCopy anchor linkCopied
- ✅ Consumers still walk away from over asking. 65% of U.S. consumers have abandoned a loan or credit card application because it asked for too much information. But financial services isn't streaming, and when something can go wrong with your money, a well placed moment of friction can help confirm intent and build trust.
- ✅ Transactional friction vs. relationship friction. Alex split friction into two types. Transactional friction is mechanical: the system just doesn't work the way the customer expects. Relationship friction signals whether the institution's interests are aligned with the customer's, like a nudge to pay down revolving debt versus an irrelevant cross-sell. Tomás added that relationship friction only works when the institution actually knows the customer.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to me if I move too fast in streaming content… In financial services, there's always the risk that something goes wrong with your money."
2. The friction institutions add doesn't always do what they thinkCopy anchor linkCopied
- ✅ Watch where the money goes, not just who gets in. Tomás sees institutions add friction for four reasons: quality, intent, fraud & compliance, and customer & margin retention. Fintech lenders that stripped out too much friction at the front door saw their portfolios suffer. The ones controlling where loan funds actually go are recovering that performance without rebuilding friction.
- ✅ Paper check payoffs don't stop payoffs. Some banks still require third-party loan payoffs to arrive by manual check, betting the hassle will keep borrowers from refinancing.
"If we just make this sort of an open door where anyone can come in, we actually create more problems for us than we're potentially solving."
3. Keep the step, change how it runsCopy anchor linkCopied
- ✅ Purpose and execution are two separate decisions. Fintech companies sometimes cut steps that exist for good reasons. Banks often keep the right steps but run them the old way.
- ✅ Agents will change which friction customers want. Once software can carry out a customer's intent on their behalf, obstacles in the process no longer stop them from following through. Tomás expects the friction customers will ask for is a confirmation step before an agent moves their money, and he argues that the institutions that design that checkpoint well will earn a lasting edge in trust.
"Give me the confirmation up front so I know what to do. Don't make me get on a phone with five people or walk into a branch to do it."
Slides and resourcesCopy anchor linkCopied
Big thanks to Spinwheel for making the conversation possible. Spinwheel is a real-time consumer credit data and payments company that gives lenders and marketplaces a consumer's full debt profile with just a phone number and date of birth.
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Fintech Takes The Court · Sunday, October 18, 2026, Las Vegas, NV
