Gamification in Banking Industry: Examples and Best Practices

What to Know About Gamification in Banking

Gamification is a $18.6 Billion industry that is expected to grow to $94.1 Billion by 2032. Companies are increasingly investing in gamification solutions to achieve a variety of business objectives, including:

• Engaging new clients
• Increasing customer loyalty
• Training employees
• Promoting personal development
• Managing innovation

Currently, banking gamification primarily serves to boost app usage and card/payment features. Yet, its future lies in its ability to educate, incentivize positive financial behavior, and foster a deeper connection between customers and their financial goals. 

Innovative gamification banking apps could offer personalized journeys, empowering users to take control of their financial well-being. By integrating elements of gamification in banking & financials, institutions can cultivate a loyal customer base that sees banking not just as a necessity, but as an engaging and rewarding experience.

Top Gamification Features for Digital Banking

• Points: A fundamental way to track and reward user accomplishments or progress within the app. They serve as a tangible measure of achievement.
• Levels: A visual representation of a user’s journey and milestones reached, highlighting both current progress and future goals.
• Leaderboards: A public display of top performers, fostering a sense of competition and inspiring others to advance.
• Badges: Virtual awards that visually acknowledge specific achievements, offering a sense of pride and recognition.
• Progress Charts: Personalized visualizations of a user’s advancement, adding a competitive element and motivating continuous engagement.
• Quests: A series of connected challenges that offer a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment when completed, aligning with broader financial goals.
• Polls: An interactive tool to gather valuable user feedback, allowing banks to better understand customer needs and preferences.
• Lottery: A simple yet exciting chance-based banking gamification rewards program that keeps users engaged with minimal effort required.

Key Gamification Principles in Banking

The effectiveness of gamification hinges on understanding your customers’ financial needs and motivations. Aligning game mechanics with their goals allows you to create a more engaging and rewarding banking experience that drives positive financial behavior. 

While the specific implementation will vary based on your target audience, here are some general principles to guide your gamification strategy:

1. Set achievable goals for your users

Understand what matters most to your customers — is it building savings, investing for retirement, paying off debt, or making responsible spending choices? And, since large financial goals can feel overwhelming, break them down into milestones — smaller, manageable steps to create a sense of progress and achievement.

Example: If the goal is to save $5,000 for a down payment, set milestones at every $1,000 saved.

2. Deliver immediate, relevant rewards

The instant gratification strengthens the positive association and encourages continued engagement. You can also tailor rewards to individual user preferences and financial goals.

Example: For a customer focused on saving, offer higher interest rates on savings accounts or cashback rewards on everyday purchases. For someone interested in investing, provide educational resources or reduced trading fees.

3. Ensure your customers can track their progress

Use progress bars, charts, or other visual elements to show users how far they’ve come and how much further they have to go.

Example: A savings goal tracker could visually display the amount saved towards a goal, with color-coded indicators showing progress towards milestones.

4. Encourage interactions

Foster a sense of community and friendly competition. Challenges can motivate users to reach specific goals, while leaderboards can tap into the desire for recognition.

Example: Create a savings challenge where users compete to save the most over a set period. Or, a leaderboard could rank users based on their credit score improvement over time.

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Benefits of Gamification for the Banking and Financial Sectors

Gamification in finance and banking delivers a multitude of advantages, ranging from boosting customer engagement and loyalty to attracting new clients and fostering internal digital transformation. Let’s delve deeper into these benefits:

Acquiring new clients

Gamification offers a modern and engaging way to interact with potential customers, setting your institution apart from competitors. Studies show that gamified onboarding experiences can improve customer acquisition rates by up to 700%. A well-crafted gamified banking app, featuring interactive elements and rewards, can be far more appealing than a traditional banking app with static features and dry financial data.

Enhanced customer engagement

By injecting fun and interactivity into the banking experience, gamification encourages customers to spend more time on the app and utilize various services, boosting customer engagement up to 54%. This can lead to deeper relationships and increased customer lifetime value.

Awareness of new services and products

Gamification provides a subtle yet effective way to promote new services and products: instead of relying on traditional advertising, banks can use games, challenges, and rewards to organically introduce new offerings and educate customers about their benefits.

Gathering valuable data

Gamified interactions generate a wealth of data about customer behavior, preferences, and financial goals. Analyzing this data enables banks to gain valuable insights into customer needs, helping them to tailor products, services, and marketing strategies for better results.

Driving digital transformation

Gamification can act as a catalyst for digital transformation within the banking sector. It encourages all stakeholders — the board, management, employees, and customers — to embrace new technologies and processes, creating a more agile and innovative culture.

Creating cross-selling opportunities

Personalized product recommendations, driven by gamified insights, can increase cross-selling success rates by up to 20%. Through gamification, banks can subtly highlight relevant products and services based on individual customer behavior and financial goals, increasing the likelihood of cross-selling and boosting revenue.

Possible Gamification Mechanics for Banks

Here are some gamification examples in banking and finance to enhance customer engagement and drive desired behaviors:

• Savings challenges: Financial institutions can ignite friendly competition through savings challenges, where customers strive to reach a savings target within a specific timeframe. Successful participants can be rewarded with bonus interest rates or cash prizes.
• Financial education quizzes: Interactive quizzes can educate customers on crucial financial topics, with points awarded for correct answers. These points can then be exchanged for enticing rewards like gift cards or discounts.
• Loyalty programs: Gamification can revitalize loyalty programs, allowing customers to accumulate points for every transaction and redeem them for benefits such as travel miles or cashback offers.
• Online banking quests: Quests can encourage customers to explore different features of their online banking platform. For example, a quest could challenge customers to set up a budget, pay a bill online, or transfer money to a friend. Customers who complete the quest could earn a badge or a discount on a banking product.
• Credit card challenges: Banks can create challenges that encourage customers to use their credit cards responsibly. For example, a challenge could reward customers for paying their credit card bill on time each month or for keeping their credit utilization low.
• Mortgage gamification: An interactive game simulating the mortgage process can empower customers to make informed decisions by experimenting with different down payment amounts and interest rates.
• Loan gamification: Timely loan repayments can also be encouraged through gamification, potentially offering interest rate discounts for consistent on-time payments.

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5 Steps to Implement Gamification in Your Banking Institution

Gamification in digital banking is about strategically aligning game mechanics with your customers’ needs and your business goals. Here’s a roadmap to get you started:

Step #1: Study your target audience

What are your customers’ financial aspirations? Are they saving for a house, paying off debt, or planning for retirement? What challenges do they face in achieving these goals? The answers will inform the types of gamified experiences you create.

Step #2: Choose gamification mechanics

Select game mechanics that directly support and incentivize desired behaviors. For example, if encouraging saving is a priority, consider savings challenges with tiered rewards. But don’t rely on a single mechanic: a mix of points, badges, leaderboards, and quests keeps the experience fresh and engaging.

Step #3: Develop an engaging storyline

Wrap your gamification elements in a compelling story that resonates with your audience. This could be a journey towards financial freedom, building a secure future, or achieving personal milestones. Allow users to customize their avatars, set individual goals, and track their progress in a visually appealing way.

Step #4: Choose the right technologies

Ensure the gamification elements integrate seamlessly with your existing banking systems and mobile app. This step is where a technology partner like Inoxoft can be invaluable: we have extensive experience in API integration, ensuring smooth data flow and a cohesive user experience.

Gamification often involves handling sensitive customer data. Prioritize robust security features to protect customer information and maintain trust. Inoxoft can help implement the necessary security measures to safeguard your gamification platform.

Step #5: Gather feedback to refine your strategy

Regularly collect feedback from customers about their experience with the gamification program. Use surveys, polls, and in-app feedback mechanisms to understand what’s working and what’s not. This helps you to continuously refine and improve your gamification strategy. Experiment with new mechanics, adjust reward structures, and keep the experience fresh and engaging.

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Practical Examples of Gamification in Banking

There are numerous ways to seamlessly weave game elements into your financial app, transforming mundane banking tasks into engaging experiences. Here are some real-world examples illustrating the successful application of gamification in the banking sector.

Acquiring and engaging customers

• Barclays Ring: Barclaycard US fostered a sense of community and belonging by launching Barclays Ring, a social credit card with gamified elements. Cardholders actively participate in the community, sharing ideas for new features and earning rewards, leading to increased card usage and loyalty.
• Monobank: This Ukrainian digital bank uses innovative gamification techniques within its intuitive mobile app. Mini-games, cashbacks and other activities reward customers with financial incentives, boosting app engagement and customer acquisition.

Enhancing the service experience

• N26’s Spaces: N26, a German digital bank, offers a gamified feature called Spaces. Users can create virtual “Spaces” to save money for specific goals, such as a vacation or a new car. Each Space has its own progress bar and rewards system, making saving more fun and motivating.
• SmartyPig: This free online piggy bank gamifies the saving process. Users set financial goals, automate transfers, and track their progress visually, making saving more fun and motivating.

Gaining valuable customer insights

• Moven’s CRED: Moven Bank’s gamified system, CRED, tracks users’ spending, bill payments, and financial decisions, providing the bank with valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences. This data enables Moven to offer personalized financial advice and targeted product recommendations.

Promoting financial education (edutainment)

• PayPerks: This web-based financial services company uses a mix of visual effects, rewards, and game elements to improve the financial literacy of low- and moderate-income users. By making financial education fun and engaging, PayPerks empowers users to make informed financial choices.

How Inoxoft Can Help Your Bank Implement Gamification 

We understand that effective gamification in mobile banking goes beyond simply adding game-like elements. It requires a strategic approach that aligns with your bank’s objectives, customer needs, and technology infrastructure. Here’s how we can help:

Gamified mobile app development

• Conceptualization and design: We’ll work closely with you to brainstorm and design engaging gamification features that seamlessly blend into your existing or new mobile banking app. We’ll focus on creating an intuitive and user-friendly experience that encourages participation.
• Performance and security: We prioritize delivering high-performance apps that handle gamification features without compromising speed or usability. We also adhere to the highest security standards to protect your customers’ data.

Platform integration and customization

• API integration: If you need to integrate a third-party gamification platform or build your own, we have extensive experience in API development and seamless integration to ensure smooth data flow between your systems.
• Customization: We’ll adapt the integration to your specific requirements, ensuring a perfect fit with your current infrastructure and workflows.

Comprehensive technical support

• Cloud integration: If you’re utilizing cloud-based solutions, we’ll expertly integrate gamification with your cloud infrastructure for scalability and reliability.
• Data analytics: We can help you leverage data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior within the gamified environment, informing your future gamification strategy and personalization efforts.

Beyond technology

• UX Design: Our UX designers will craft intuitive and engaging interfaces, making the gamified elements a natural and enjoyable part of the banking experience.
• Consultation and strategy: We’ll provide expert consultation on gamification strategies tailored to your target audience and goals.

We’ll collaborate with you from concept to deployment, ensuring that your gamification strategy is successful and delivers measurable results.

Let’s create a more engaging and rewarding banking experience for your customers.

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Final Thoughts

Gamification of financial services isn’t just about collecting coins and taking a quiz. Its value is in analytical data, an expanded client base, and an attractive image of a financial institution. However, businesses are investing in digital solutions for a reason: to keep up with client’s demands, automate their operations, enhance customer engagement, and of course, survive the competition. 

We, at Inoxoft, help fintech institutions empower their workforces with custom fintech development services and innovative solutions. Get in touch with us and find out more about ways you can apply best practices of gamification in banking and how to start benefiting from this idea today!