Top 6 Features of Gamification In Fintech To Ensure High Customer Retention

Any success of an organization depends on its capacity to focus on client engagement. According to Semrush, consumer loyalty is often worth ten times more than a single purchase. According to experts, 96% of customers will continue to use products or services if they are satisfied with their interactions with a company.

People are likely to tell their friends, relatives, and coworkers about their favorable experiences. As a result, financial institutions can enhance revenues while minimizing or preventing churn and bounce rates by guaranteeing a consistent customer experience.

Gamification in fintech is one of the most effective methods for accomplishing this goal. Gamification is becoming increasingly popular in a variety of businesses. According to a market research firm, the gamification in fintech will grow from $9.1 Bn to $30.7 Bn in 2025, with an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 percent. Prescient & Strategic Intelligence offers a more conservative forecast, predicting a CAGR of 24.2 per cent from 2020 to 2030.

The major gaming elements that can help you transform the client experience will be described in this article. Let’s get started.

What Exactly Is Gamification In fintech?

In finance, gamification refers to introducing game features and mechanics into a non-game service to increase consumer engagement. The process typically entails establishing goals, tracking progress, and performing tasks to earn bonuses, monetary incentives, and gifts. Gamification finance apps frequently use a “PLB” (points, leaderboards, and badges) system to encourage users to take certain behaviors, such as saving money and budgeting.

The following characteristics of a gamified experience are immediately affected: 

• Client satisfaction and loyalty 

• User acquisition and retention 

• Word-of-mouth recommendations.

Financial institutions can reduce bounce rates and increase profitability by implementing the gamification approach. Extraco, the largest independent banking organization in Texas, used fintech gamification to educate clients about services and perks. As a result, the institution saw a 700% boost in customer acquisitions. In addition, Extraco increased the conversion rate by seven times, from 2% to 14%. 

Top Fintech Gamification Concepts For Customer Engagement

1. Points, badges, stickers, and rewards

A reward system is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining customers. A financial company can provide a better experience while increasing return on investment by offering value. Points, badges, and stickers are examples of fintech gamification concepts for apps that users might obtain when interacting with a software platform.

For instance, an institution can let customers earn coins for making purchases from partner retailers to further redeem them for gift cards and discounts. It is also possible to hold a prize drawing for the most active players, encouraging consumers to use the product more often.

When it comes to fintech gamification, Digit, an app that attempts to automate savings, offers incentives to encourage consumers to save money. Digit has helped customers save over $5 billion due to this feature. The business has now raised $66.3 million in seven rounds of funding.

Surf created a mobile banking software that allows users to make online payments, apply for loans, and get personalized offers. Our engineers built a loyalty program that rewards users with cash in the form of bonus points to increase user engagement.

2. Objectives and challenges

Setting objectives and challenges is a powerful motivator that can help you boost client loyalty and satisfaction. Gamification finance apps use this strategy to assist users in enhancing their financial well-being. Software solutions, for example, can help customers develop personal financial goals, track spending, make a budget, and stick to it.

Banking institutions can encourage consumers to save by allowing them to set savings goals and rewarding them for achieving them. Furthermore, it is reasonable to set budget restrictions so that people do not face the problem of excessive spending.

This fintech gamification element is currently available in several major financial products. The Qapital banking app, for example, allows users to create spending, saving, and investment goals. The “Goals and Rules” functionality is also visualized using Qapital. The business has raised $47.3 million in five funding rounds.

3. Progress bars

Another prominent fintech gamification strategy that allows financial services organizations to keep users motivated is the usage of progress bars. Customers see the bar move closer to the target as they complete important tasks (such as conserving money, adopting good spending habits, and setting and fulfilling daily goals). The ability to track performance adds to enhanced user retention and engagement.

For example, Mint is a popular smartphone app for personal budget management in real-world examples. A progress meter is included in the product, which helps consumers stay motivated in achieving their financial goals while lowering churn and increasing conversion rates. It’s worth noting that Mint comes with several useful features. For example, the solution provides individualized advice on how to pay off debts faster. Mint has raised a total of $31.8 million in five rounds to date.

4. Gamified technical content

Gamified education is critical for increasing client awareness of financial goods, services, and issues. Organizations can use a range of approaches to enhance financial literacy while increasing general engagement, such as puzzles, quizzes, films, and actual games.

BBVA, a Spanish multinational financial organization, developed BBVA Game, an educational app with a point system that allows users to win rewards, including movies, music downloads, and football match tickets.

It’s worth noting that BBVA Game used a variety of fintech gamification approaches to reward clients for their transactions. The bank promoted online banking services and boosted user retention and satisfaction due to this project. The solution attracted over 100,000 players in the first six months.

We created a mobile investment app for brokers and their clients based on our experience. Our software professionals built stories to present educational content to increase financial literacy. We also included short tips on each product screen.

5. Leaderboards 

Another gamification aspect considered when developing a financial application is a leaderboard. Simply put, a leaderboard is a list of top scores that allows users to compete against one another. A corporation can help customers enhance productivity and client contentment by incorporating a competitive game element and visualizing their results.

An excellent example of app gamification is Ayrro. A stock market trading app that uses leaderboards to improve customer experience in-app gamification. Traders can see how close they are to first place and compare their performance to other users thanks to digital badges and rankings displayed on the leaderboard.

6. Social media

Financial businesses can allow consumers to share their successes, favorite features, and intriguing app content via social networks to boost customer engagement and reduce churn. This fintech gamification strategy also aids firms in attracting new users and raising awareness.

In terms of relevant instances, Meemo is a social finance software that encourages users to give and receive gifts and money from their peers. The system, powered by artificial intelligence, offers consumers personalized rewards based on behaviours such as money transfers. In addition, Meemo creates an Instagram Stories-style summary of user actions for a specific week.

However, financial firms must provide a customer-centric experience when delivering products and services in a highly competitive environment to keep existing clients pleased while recruiting new ones. 

Fintech gamification allows startups and institutions to win over their target audiences and drastically enhance customer loyalty conversion rates. And, because devoted customers are more likely to interact with the app and suggest it to their friends, gaining additional profit and attracting investors will be much easier.

Finally, gamification has the potential to improve performance in a variety of ways. Employee engagement will improve, onboarding will be shortened, and learning experiences will be more efficient and meaningful due to successful gamification programs. Companies profit considerably from the unique characteristics of gamification, whether through connecting their employees with company-wide goals or easing down the transition to organizational change.