Even billion-dollar companies can make mistakes. Hertz spent $32 million on a full digital overhaul, only to end up with broken code, missed deadlines, and a lawsuit against one of the world’s largest consultancies. For UK fintech SMBs racing to scale while staying compliant, this is a warning. This article breaks down: How Hertz’s digital transformation collapsed, why fintech leaders must stay vigilant, the most common causes of digital transformation failures, five early risk signals fintechs should watch for, and how sprint-based delivery models de-risk complex projects.
What happened in the Hertz–Accenture project? In 2016, Hertz hired Accenture to deliver a full rebuild of its website and mobile apps. The contract promised a modernised digital experience that could scale globally across platforms and devices. What followed was anything but. Key deadlines kept slipping: first in December 2017, then in January 2018, and finally in April 2018. The code delivered was incomplete, buggy, and non-responsive. Critical functionality, including tablet support and scalable branding, was missing. Testing and QA milestones were either missed or poorly executed. Hertz claimed, 'Accenture never delivered a functional website or mobile app.' By 2018, Hertz had terminated the contract and sued Accenture for damages in 2019. Accenture denied wrongdoing, but the lawsuit exposed deep flaws in delivery, governance, and accountability, despite the involvement of a top-tier consultancy.
Why does this still matter for fintech leaders in 2025? According to a McKinsey and Oxford study of over 5,400 global IT projects, 17% fail so badly they threaten the company’s survival. For fintechs, where technology is the product, the margin for error is even smaller. The Hertz disaster may feel like old news, but its lessons have only become more urgent for UK fintechs, which are under pressure to grow rapidly without compromising their stability.
Investors won’t wait for delays. They are no longer patient with blown deadlines or vague roadmaps. Every delay cuts deeper into burn rates and invites uncomfortable questions about leadership and execution.
Compliance must start on day one. Regulatory compliance isn’t something that can be fixed after launch. FCA rules, data governance, and operational resilience need to be baked into the build from day one. In fintech, there’s no room for unstable platforms.
Stability is the core of customer trust. Payments, client data, and core banking services sit at the heart of customer trust, and any cracks in that foundation can carry serious financial and reputational risk. Even billion-dollar budgets can’t save a broken delivery model. The fact that global brands with immense budgets still fail at digital delivery should be a flashing warning sign for scale-ups working with smaller teams and tighter margins. Success still depends on the delivery model itself. It’s not about how much is being spent, but how projects are structured, governed, and executed. Fintech leaders don’t have the luxury of blind trust. These failures rarely come from a single bad decision; they grow from structural gaps that can and should be caught early, before they snowball.
What causes digital transformation failures? Most digital transformation failures can be traced back to a few recurring causes. These are patterns that repeatedly break projects, regardless of company size or budget. Left unchecked, these issues don’t stay small. Minor delays turn into missed milestones. Vague requirements create rework. The budget expands, technical debt piles up, and delivery breaks down entirely. Hertz discovered that not only was the project delayed, but the code that was delivered created major security vulnerabilities and serious performance issues. These were real risks to the platform’s stability and customer data protection. For a fintech platform, these kinds of failures could mean regulatory violations, customer loss, and severe reputational damage.
Five risk factors fintechs should watch for. Fintech platforms operate under intense regulatory pressure, hold sensitive customer data, and face constant demands for the rapid delivery of features. According to BCG, nearly 70% of digital transformation failures stem from poor risk management and execution breakdowns. Spotting early warning signs is critical to protecting both growth and survival. Some of the most dangerous signals include:
Spotting these signals early can prevent millions in wasted spend and months of lost time.
How Deployflow helps fintechs de-risk digital projects. At Deployflow, the core objective is to protect fintech firms from missed deadlines, compliance risks, operational disruptions, and reputational damage. Sprint-based delivery with two-week cycles ensures that every sprint produces working, testable code. Progress is fast, visible, and controlled. Risks surface early, allowing for immediate adjustments before small issues escalate. Security-first delivery with built-in compliance ensures that FCA, GDPR, and operational resilience are integrated directly into the development pipeline from day one. Security, data privacy, and auditability are continuously enforced across all stages. Early wins through MVPs and testable features allow for working functionality to be delivered early in the project. Fintech teams validate features against business, operational, and regulatory requirements throughout development, not after full build-out.
Transparent, real-time reporting and change tracking enable leadership to have full visibility into progress, blockers, and upcoming risks through live dashboards. Reporting is continuous, eliminating blind spots and delays in decision-making. Fintech-grade cloud infrastructure is architected for financial data, high availability, and regulatory compliance. Systems scale reliably as business demands increase, without requiring later rework.
Scaling from MVP to $2B by fixing delivery first. In 2018, a fast-growing UK fintech set out to compete in the 'Buy Now, Pay Later' (BNPL) market. The product idea was clear. The risk was time. They had one month for a complex API integration; failure meant risking the company’s survival, a software project risk many fintech companies face when speed is critical. Deployflow was brought in to solve one problem and build a fintech delivery model that could move fast without breaking. Infrastructure was automated with Terraform on AWS. Delivery pipelines were optimized with Bitbucket and Octopus. A dedicated remote team was fully integrated into the company’s product cycle. Continuous QA and compliance checks were built into every sprint. This sprint-based delivery allowed them to move at speed while maintaining full visibility, compliance, and stability. The MVP launched on schedule. The delivery system scaled with the business. Today, the company is valued at over $2 billion. This is a sharp contrast to high-profile cases like the Accenture Hertz case study, where a website rebuild failure cost over $32 million and turned into a failed digital transformation.
The right delivery model turns high risk into controlled growth. Zilch’s outcome wasn’t accidental. The difference was a delivery model built for speed, control, and compliance from day one. The same risks that nearly derailed Hertz were neutralized early, not by spending more, but by structuring delivery to surface issues before they became failures. The same approach applies to any fintech building high-stakes platforms under tight timelines. Avoid delivery failures before they start. Deployflow’s DevOps service team gives fintech teams sprint-based delivery, built-in compliance, and full transparency from day one, turning high-risk digital projects into controlled, predictable execution. Fintech companies don’t need bigger budgets; they need delivery systems built to catch failures before they happen.
Frequently asked questions about digital transformation failures in fintech.
What is a digital transformation failure? A digital transformation failure happens when a technology-driven business project fails to meet its intended objectives. Projects such as website rebuilds, platform migrations, or new product development often fail due to missed deadlines, cost overruns, technical debt, and delivery breakdowns.
What went wrong in the Hertz–Accenture project? The Hertz–Accenture project failed because Accenture repeatedly missed deadlines, delivered incomplete and buggy code, ignored key functionality requirements, and introduced serious security vulnerabilities. These delivery failures ultimately forced Hertz to terminate the contract and pursue legal action for damages.
How can UK fintechs avoid a similar failure? UK fintechs can avoid these failures by adopting sprint-based delivery models that produce working software early, embedding compliance from the start, maintaining full delivery transparency, and working with vendors who take full responsibility for both execution and governance.