Fear-mongering, accusations of laziness, and emotional outbursts dominate the return-to-office conversation. Leaders like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have been particularly vocal about company culture. Speaking about remote work, Jamie said, “You have less conversations at the water cooler and cafeteria.” He went on to express frustration with online communication. He said that culture cannot thrive through screens, stating, “It doesn’t work in our business… it’s impossible to do culture that way.”
This sentiment is echoed across financial services and fintech firms globally. Office occupancy in major U.S. cities remains below pre-pandemic levels. This has sparked renewed pressure on leaders to bring people back to the office. There is little evidence to suggest that mandating office attendance alone solves issues around collaboration or performance. Despite this, many business leaders behave as if the return to work will be the catch-all solution to today’s corporate woes. They often assume it will fix engagement and performance.
In this article, I highlight three fintech companies that are thriving with remote-first models. Each example focuses on how they build strong, positive cultures without relying on physical office space full-time. While some businesses are choosing to reinstate mandatory in-person policies, these examples offer an alternative. They are relevant for remote, hybrid, and in-person businesses alike. Each example is grounded in clarity, trust, and thoughtful execution.
Empowering People Through An Output Driven Remote-First Culture
Naomi Trickey is Chief People Officer at Mews and Non-Executive Director at Griffin, a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. She says any company’s culture strategy needs to focus on delivering “great outputs.” She aims to empower talent to “innovate and thrive by choice, not obligation.” She describes the relationship between employer and employee as a “social contract.” This has seen a significant shift in power dynamics in recent years, where fintech has seen a lack of engagement. Despite this, Naomi says the goal for employers should be to “create an environment in which people actively want to come and work for you.”
Working environments must foster openness, transparency, psychological safety, and innovation. All need a foundation of belonging and security. Only then can workplaces emphasize personal responsibility and freedom to achieve goals. She says, “It’s about giving people personal freedom to make the choices that work for them.” Within this framework, Naomi sets out clear output, productivity and performance expectations. These are measured transparently with a focus on impact. In this way, individuals “engage proactively” and often exceed expectations. This approach is supported by a range of development tools, including online learning platforms, individual learning budgets, managerial training programs, and product training. High-quality, in-person meet-ups are designed to maximize output and foster genuine connection. Naomi refers to these purposeful gatherings as “meaningful moments of connection” that strengthen collaboration and culture.
Fostering Remote-First Growth Through Open Communication and Action
Sana Fatima is VP of Talent at LemonEdge, a remote-first company providing fund accounting solutions to private equity and hedge fund firms. She describes her role as ensuring that “Team LemonEdge remains productive and positive.” Achieving this starts with hiring individuals who align with the company’s values and growth ambitions. From there, the focus shifts to retaining, supporting, and engaging talent to drive performance and meet evolving goals. It’s an intentional, carefully structured, and continually evolving process.
One standout initiative is LemonEdge’s approach to mental health support. Launched in 2022, it began with the introduction of Employee Assistance Programs and open access to therapy sessions. Sana expanded on this foundation by developing a comprehensive strategy to raise mental health awareness and reduce stigma. This included educational sessions, webinars, and regular newsletter updates guiding employees on how to access available support. Today, the company is building an internal mental health resource library featuring worksheets, reading materials, videos, and external links to additional resources.
As Sana shares, “Employee engagement is at the heart of our work. We believe open communication and active listening are essential to building a culture of continuous improvement.” Every initiative reflects this commitment to intentional listening. Regular team meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and consistent feedback loops are integral parts of the LemonEdge culture. Managers are trained to ask open-ended questions like, “How can we improve team communication?” or “What changes would help you work more effectively?” or “How would you like to develop within the company?”
Crucially, when feedback leads to action, employees feel genuinely heard and valued. This continually builds trust and deepens engagement. For the LemonEdge team, true engagement means listening actively, creating a safe and open environment, asking the right questions and following through with meaningful, visible changes.
Designing Trust, Flexibility and Growth in a Remote-First Culture
Caitriona Staunton is VP People at Primer, a payments company helping online merchants simplify global payments through a single, unified infrastructure. She believes flexibility is a “powerful enabler” when it’s deliberately designed and woven into every part of the employee experience. At Primer, flexibility goes beyond location alone. It’s built into how people access benefits, grow their careers, and are rewarded for impact.
Primer has been remote-first since day one. Its culture is intentionally structured to thrive without offices. The focus is on async collaboration, “seamless self-service tech,” and purposeful in-person time. Examples of this are seen through company retreats, co-working and team workations. Hiring is key. Primer looks for people who can work autonomously while staying deeply connected to a distributed team. This is core to living the company’s value of being “distributed yet unified.”
A seamless onboarding experience is a critical part of this design. Every new ‘Primigo’ is automatically enrolled in virtual random coffee chats. This helps build communication habits and cross-team relationships early, regardless of location. Recognition is equally embedded in the culture, with employees regularly awarding peer-to-peer shoutouts to celebrate colleagues who embody Primer’s values. These small rituals strengthen connection, reinforce culture, and ensure great work doesn’t go unnoticed in a fully distributed environment.
Growth and reward at Primer are tightly linked to impact. Caitriona’s approach is data-driven, with regular reviews of demographic data to reduce bias and ensure fairness. The company emphasises clear performance expectations, robust career pathways, and merit-based rewards. These all build a system that employees see as credible and trusted.
For Caitriona, real inclusion isn’t performative, it’s about building workplaces where people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and grow. Flexibility, transparency, and trust aren’t perks at Primer. They are core to how Primer unlocks the potential of its people and keeps the company competitive in a fast-evolving world.
The future of work isn’t about forcing people back into old models. It is about building cultures that people want to be part of. The fintechs highlighted here show that with the right leadership, strategy and planning, remote-first teams will outperform.
Culture isn’t created by proximity alone. It’s built through trust, clarity, and deliberate action. Businesses that understand this will be the ones that attract, retain, and empower the best talent in the years ahead.
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