Mobile finance usage surges in 2020 - proving fintech isn’t afraid of change

It’s been a fascinating year for mobile apps as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented growth in many verticals. Fintech apps were already undergoing a significant surge in most markets, and have received another boost this year as economies and user habits shifted to accommodate lockdowns and social distancing restrictions.

Adjust, in partnership with mobile market intelligence experts Apptopia, delved into the world of mobile fintech in the recent Mobile Finance Report, where we analyzed global and key regional trends across banking, payment and investment apps. Providing in-depth analysis of finance app performance and how the pandemic has accelerated digital banking adoption, the report also features best-practices for finance apps, and insights from finance industry experts across a range of markets.

Key findings include:

• Investment apps have boomed in 2020, seeing an 88% growth in sessions since January.
• Payment apps have also undergone significant growth, with sessions increasing by 49% globally, and by 75% in Japan and 49% in Germany.
• Super apps are continuing to grow and dominate the mobile payment space - and this trend is starting to emerge in markets beyond APAC.

Usage of finance apps is up

Mobile Marketer reported on the findings from the mobile finance report in a recent article, where they highlighted that financial services companies need to adapt to offer users a broader range of services within their apps.

“The health crisis has led many banks, brokerages and investment advisers to either close their offices temporarily or require employees to work from home, while many of their customers have stayed at home to limit in-person contact. Those sudden changes in behavior make apps more important in providing financial services.”

The article also pointed out that investment apps including Acorns, Gatsby and Stash have seen a big boost in activity in 2020, with the 88% uptake eclipsing the increase for casual and hyper-casual games. The cost of acquiring these new users also fell by 77% between February and May (a cost that was rising prior to 2020) as lockdowns came into effect and users turned towards their banking and payments apps more often.

It’s all about acquiring the right users

Acquiring high numbers of users isn’t effective for fintech companies if they don’t stick around and continue using the apps. Ian Kar, a thought leader in the finance space and editor of industry newsletter Fintech Today, took a look at this in his article on retention rates where they also examined data from Adjust’s report.

“Consumer loyalty is becoming a major metric for later-stage fintech companies [...]. Because sticky users stay on the platform for years and their engagement increases over time, the company’s long but high payback over time offsets historically rising acquisition costs to the point that these companies are profitable on a per-user level over time. The hard part to solve is creating an engaging experience to keep people using your banking app for years.”

Consumers are continuing to trend towards mobile across all fintech sub-verticals, and companies are reacting to that by broadening their offerings and allowing for more options that void the need for face-to-face interactions. This increase in digital adoption coupled with the potential of untapped markets makes fintech an exciting vertical to keep an eye on.

To gain more mobile fintech insights and learn about trends for 2020 and beyond, download the report here.