Gamification is what happens when you apply the typical framework and structure of a game to other activities, such as education—or in this case, fintech.
While there are plenty of fintech-funds across the globe, financial technology is not exactly something most people associate with fun.
However, when it comes to teaching people about how to better navigate their finances using technology, such as an app or online system, the use of gamification is a great strategy for boosting engagement and motivating progress.
So, what makes gamification and fintech so compatible?
Let’s find out.
3 Ways Gamification Improves Fintech Applications
If you can find a way to gamify otherwise complex or highly technical platforms, it makes them more accessible. This opens up the platform to an audience encompassing a wider demographic of consumers.
Gamification makes the process of saving money, learning about finances, and tracking investments much easier and more digestible for consumers to engage with.
The three main advantages of using gamification in fintech are as follows:
1. Increases Customer Retention
Gamified application mechanics drive up LTV and inspire customers to stick around. Not only do the enjoyment factor and simplicity provided by gamification make customers feel more comfortable using these systems, but the game journeys can also incentivize long-term use.
The gamification element keeps people interested in the product and invested in the outcome of their progress. This makes it a great tool for increasing customer retention.
2. Improves User Engagement
Gamification can also boost the amount of time actively spent on fintech programs, thus increasing engagement levels and eliciting higher customer satisfaction rates. A vast number of fintech programs offer rewards for engagement, keeping users invested and eager to keep active.
Applying a gamified lens to the fintech program process can also boost information retention. When people learn new information in a game setting, they are more likely to retain it.
3. Strengthens Customer Loyalty
Creating an enjoyable, rewarding experience for customers is what incentivizes them to stay loyal to a certain brand or company. Fintech companies that want to keep customers around for the long haul can significantly improve loyalty metrics by investing in gamification strategies.
Why Fintech Companies Are Incorporating Gamification In Their Apps
There are many different ways that fintech companies can introduce gamification into their applications and systems for users to enjoy, and many different domains available with which to implement gamification.
Some of the most popular outcomes of gamified fintech include:
Boosting Financial Literacy Across The World
Even though an astounding 71% of US adults believe they have high financial literacy levels, these numbers often don’t match the behavior exhibited by this demographic. That’s why financial literacy in general is a major advantage of fintech gamification. With engaging, simplified game design, people can receive accessible education around personal and professional money matters, allowing them to earn more money and navigate finances more strategically.
One of the great things about gamification is that it can make education feel open-ended and ongoing. As long as the users are motivated to keep earning rewards and learning, they will likely keep using the app or program, thus continually evolving their financial literacy.
Encouraging Good Financial Habits
One of the simplest and most effective ways to implement gamification in fintech programs is to use rewards to incentivize spending, saving, or investing wisely.
This can empower people from every demographic to practice better financial habits and equip themselves with the tools they need to build financial security, both now and in the future.
Building And Nurturing Community
Gamified experiences help users foster trust with both the fintech companies they use and the other users on the platform. This helps foster a sense of community that spurns more loyalty and engagement, enhancing the user experience and motivating them to keep learning.
A variety of fintech companies have already started utilizing these forms of gamification to enhance customer engagement and loyalty on their apps.
Fortune City is a good example of this, as it incentivizes budget tracking and expense logging using a simulation game design. The game allows users to construct buildings and properties by recording their financial activity. This approach has helped millions of users develop better financial habits and come to understand budgeting in a more comprehensive way.
Gamification Is The Future Of Fintech
If you’re not educated in financial literacy, learning how to navigate the world of savings, budgeting, and investments can be hugely challenging.
But financial literacy is an important skill for everyone, especially as the industry grows and expands into a more digital landscape. By implementing gamification strategies into fintech design, people of every financial literacy level can gain access to the education they need.
