Gamification can be leveraged by banking apps to enhance engagement and build customer loyalty, making it an effective strategy to reduce user churn.

For users, this can mean achieving goals, having an easy way to monitor progress, and completing tasks to unlock rewards such as bonuses, cash incentives, and gifts.

Why use gamification in banking apps?

1. Boost engagement: Gamification makes banking apps more enjoyable and engaging for users, encouraging them to use the app regularly.
2. Build loyalty: It fosters a sense of reward and attachment, increasing customer loyalty and retention.
3. Gain a competitive edge: An app that uses gamification correctly can set itself apart from the sea of other apps out there.

Challenges of gamification in banking apps

1. ‍Balancing seriousness and fun: Striking the right balance between making financial activities enjoyable and not turning them into gimmicks is a challenge. Financial decisions are often seen as serious matters, making it essential to maintain a sense of responsibility.‍
2. Catering to diverse audiences: People have varying attitudes toward gamification. Banks must make gamified experiences discoverable without imposing them on all users.
3. Maintaining consistency: Ensuring consistency in the app's look and feel while introducing gamification is frequently difficult to achieve.‍
4. Retaining privacy and security: While competitiveness can drive progress, ranking people based on their financial achievements might not be universally appealing. Privacy and security concerns need to be addressed when implementing social features like leaderboards.

Gamification elements in banking apps

1. Points: They signify user accomplishments and progress, acting as rewards for achievements.
2. Levels: These visually represent a user's journey and remaining milestones, showcasing their progress and achievements.
3. Leaderboards: They offer recognition and motivation by displaying users' rankings and encouraging competition.
4. Badges: These visually acknowledge user accomplishments, adding a sense of achievement.
5. Progress charts: Introduce competitive elements, ensuring users stay engaged and motivated.
6. Quests: Enhance feelings of success and achievement by connecting smaller challenges to broader objectives.
7. Polls: Gather user data, providing insights into their needs and expectations.

Examples of banking apps that successfully leveraged gamification

Monobank

Monobank introduced a successful gamification initiative in 2019. Users were encouraged to complete straightforward tasks, such as updating their personal profiles or making transactions with ApplePay, to earn badges.

Exclusive rewards and benefits were offered to the first users who collected all badges.

Revolut

Revolut offers a rewards system where you earn points for making transfers and payments. These points contribute to a leaderboard that tracks your progress in comparison to both top users and your friends.

These accumulated points can then be used to participate in a weekly prize draw, allowing you to win cash prizes ranging from £1 to £10,000 as part of Revolut's Raffle contest.

BBVA

It’s a Spanish bank app that introduced the BBVA Game, a web app featuring tutorials on online tax payments and transactions.

Customers could accumulate points by completing challenges and use them for rewards like music downloads, movies, smartphones, La Liga football league tickets, and auctions.

In just half a year, the game attracted over 100,000 users, and received an impressive 18% increase in user satisfaction.

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Plotline's no-code builder is designed to integrate interactive gaming features into your banking app. Additionally, you can use scratch cards and other UI elements like tooltips, spotlights, stories, PiP videos, etc., to educate, retain, and motivate your users effectively.

Start a free trial with Plotline now to gain a deeper insight into how we can enhance your banking app's gamification.