{"id":10393,"date":"2024-03-14T17:01:15","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T11:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/?p=10393"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:01:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T03:31:21","slug":"technical-writing-for-the-financial-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/learn\/technical-writing-for-the-financial-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Technical Writing for the Financial Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an art and an industry, technical writing has donned various hats and shapes. It evolved from a \u2018communication device to accomplish a task\u2019 to a fleshed-out, fully-fledged machine supporting countless niches and complexities of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

It matters even more in the financial realm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Money defines our decisions, and vice versa, in big and small hands alike. When you double it tenfold, big institutions and mammoth industries overhaul millions of transactions at the speed of light. For instance, Razorpay, one of the largest FinTech players in India, processed a Total Payment Volume (TPV) of $150 Billion in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot matters in enabling these transactions. Technical communication is one of the pillars that upholds product and business trust. It augments users’ understanding and usage of the products and services through transparency and accessibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, however, a lot more than what meets the eye. In this blog, let us deep dive into the role of technical writing in the financial industry and the many ways it has come to shape.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Early Days<\/h3>\n

The online literature for the early days of technical writing is very sparse. <\/span>Its evolution is an interesting story<\/span><\/a>, but technical documentation efforts in fintech get buried amongst the industry’s regulations and compliance changes. Documentation is deeply integrated into these developments.<\/span><\/p>\n

As such, my references for the article are a combination of online research and our latest <\/span>TalkX episode<\/span><\/a> that delved into how financial tech writing came about.<\/span><\/p>\n

In finance, most discussions revolve around exchanging money and goods, as well as related communication and information. Sometimes, they aim to bring awareness towards a better deal or highlight a recommended process. Other times, it\u2019s for standardising processes for an organisation, decision-making and documenting, or raising capital via stocks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finance has evolved dramatically, and agents of such communication, whom we now know as technical writers have huddled around these changes and grown simultaneously.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image
Financial technology grew from fax machines to software applications in just three decades.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This became apparent with the advent of the telegraph and fax machines. By the 90s, technical writers were not only subject-matter experts anymore but also the primary proponents of these machines. Consider the following questions:<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you use these machines? What format does a fellow follow to depict a Balance Sheet? What program connects the mainframe computer to the back-end operations? How do the complex banking and financial systems like SWIFT, ATMs, and more work?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Unique Case of Tech Writing in Financial Industry<\/b><\/h3>\n

There is one unique thing that separates tech writing from most industries when it is applied to the financial industry. Gopalakrishnan Tharoor, a persevering technical writing veteran from our latest TalkX session, elaborates that to navigate these waters\u2014where financial information has grown complex and outsourcing avenues quickly gained speed in the 90s\u2014 \u2018focus\u2019 had to join hands with systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFin-tech prizes focus,\u201d began. He gave us a glimpse of <\/span>CMMI guidelines<\/span><\/a> strictly adhered to in 80-page printouts, finally to be presented to the project managers. These were detailed protocols, annual reports, prospectuses, white papers, and more for a renowned bank. They fall at the mercy of intense rework should any information be more or less necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you can imagine, these were all boringly lengthy and taxing. Where outsourcing was accumulating the spotlight, a single-minded focus had to shake hands with collaboration; he emphasised, \u201cTo prioritise the focus, you need systems. Well-oiled systems make or break documentation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Importance of Systems<\/b><\/h4>\n

For focus to remain at the centre of the venture, participants in the financial operations process must be immune to structural challenges, which was only possible with systemic efforts and strict protocols.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n