What Building Fintech for Churches Taught Me About Trust

When I began working on financial systems for churches, I assumed the hardest problems would be technical.

I expected complexity in payments, reconciliation, reporting, and compliance. I assumed trust would follow once the system worked well.

I was wrong.

The most difficult part was never the technology.
It was trust.

Trust Is Not Automatic

Churches operate on deep relational trust. Leaders are trusted not only with money, but with meaning, community, and moral authority.

That kind of trust does not transfer easily to systems.

Many churches have been hurt before.
By tools that promised simplicity but delivered confusion.
By vendors who did not understand church culture.
By structures that felt imposed rather than supportive.

As a result, trust is cautious. And rightly so.

What Churches Are Actually Afraid Of

Over time, a pattern became clear.

Church leaders are rarely afraid of systems themselves.
They are afraid of what systems might signal.

They fear:

• Losing relational warmth
• Being misunderstood by members
• Inviting suspicion where none existed
• Turning ministry into administration

These fears are not irrational. They come from lived experience.

Why Features Do Not Create Trust

It is tempting, especially in technology, to believe that better features will solve trust.

But churches do not trust systems because they are powerful.
They trust them because they are respectful.

Respect looks like:

• Moving slowly
• Explaining clearly
• Avoiding unnecessary complexity
• Allowing leaders to remain leaders

Trust grows when systems reduce anxiety, not when they introduce novelty.

Listening Changed Everything

The most important moments did not happen in meetings or demos.

They happened in quiet conversations.

When leaders spoke about exhaustion.
When admins described carrying invisible weight.
When pastors admitted they were unsure how to grow without losing trust.

Listening reshaped how we thought about building.

It reminded us that systems are not neutral.
They shape behaviour.
They teach values.
They either protect leaders or expose them.

A Different Definition of Success

Success, in this context, is not adoption speed.
It is not scale.
It is not even efficiency.

Success is when leaders feel:

• Less defensive
• More supported
• More confident in the trust placed in them

That kind of success takes restraint.

A Closing Reflection

Building fintech for churches has taught me this:

Trust is not built by convincing people.
It is built by honouring their reality.

Systems that last are not the loudest.
They are the ones that listen first.

These reflections are shaped by ongoing conversations with church leaders across Kenya. If they echo questions you are carrying, we are always open to quiet conversations.