Navigating the dynamic terrain of fintech apps

This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 14, 2024 – October 20, 2024

The financial technology (fintech) revolution has reshaped our financial interactions, bringing forth a new age of innovation and accessibility. With mobile banking and cryptocurrency trading, fintech apps have become essential in our daily routines, providing convenience, security and financial empowerment right at our fingertips.

Since the beginning of 2023, Bitcoin’s value has more than tripled, coinciding with the rise of mobile payments as the favoured method of transaction. This has led to a significant surge in the fintech app market, presenting exceptional growth and opportunities.

Looking forward, major trends such as the widespread use of digital wallets, real-time international payments and improved mobile banking security are anticipated to define the future of fintech. This evolution presents a unique chance for developers and marketers to drive continued growth for their fintech applications.

Asia-Pacific is a thriving hub of financial activity and innovation. A recent report revealed that the region’s finance market is predicted to reach US$324 billion by 2026.

According to our research, published in the latest Mobile App Trends report, fintech app instals and sessions globally soared by 42% and 24% respectively in 2023, reflecting a seismic shift in consumer behaviour and preferences. Session lengths for fintech apps also increased globally between 2022 and 2023, up from 6.1 minutes per session to 6.4 minutes.

On average, Asia-Pacific sat below its North American counterpart with an average of 6.38 minutes per session while the latter led regional session lengths at 7.21 minutes. However, homing deep into the Asia-Pacific figures revealed startling variations between nations. Indonesia and Singapore demonstrate a preference for longer sessions than their Western peers.

None of this is surprising given Asia-Pacific’s status as a hub for “super app” development, with these apps providing an enormous network of services alongside finance.

Asia-Pacific also stood out regionally for its biggest installations uptick at 48% and its high median click-through rate (CTR) of 1.4%. Indeed, Indonesia was notable for its phenomenal CTR growth which reached 2.6% last year. But within this vast and diverse continent, fintech adoption and usage are soaring at a rate other nations can only dream of. Malaysia’s overall app downloads clocked 629 million in 1H2024 and the revenue spend on apps grew 8% to 240 million. Fintech has been one of the fastest-growing verticals in Malaysia, growing at the rate of 16% in 1H2024 over the 1H2023.

The report also highlighted that in 2023, global in-app revenue for fintech apps increased by an astronomical 118% year on year. This surge was most sharply felt in July and August, during which in-app revenue was 26% and 24% respectively above the year’s average.

Promisingly, Asia-Pacific’s average revenue per monthly active user (Arpmau) stood at a comfortable US$2.86, surpassing the global average of US$2.58. Although not as high as Europe and Mena (Middle East and North Africa), which boast US$3.06 and US$2.96 Arpmau respectively, Asia-Pacific’s results are indicative of strong user engagement and monetisation strategies.

While regional differences in the fintech landscape are influenced by several factors, including economic, regulatory and cultural dynamics, the overarching trend is one of growth and innovation. As the industry continues to evolve, understanding and adapting to regional nuances will be essential for marketers and developers seeking to capitalise on the vast opportunities presented by the global fintech revolution.

As a starting point for exploring these opportunities, Asia-Pacific has an auspicious future. The rapid growth of digital financial tools and e-commerce in recent years is driving demand for innovative financial solutions, especially among younger consumers. In addition, the region’s strong preference for mobile-first solutions and an affordable cost per instal (eCPI) of 63 US cents make it an ideal ground for developers and marketers to build a strong foundation for long-term growth.

The finance app industry is set for significant expansion in the second half of 2024, fuelled by technological innovations, heightened user participation and targeted market expansions.

The impressive 119% y-o-y increase in in-app revenue highlights this strong growth trajectory, particularly in Europe and Latin America, where successful user engagement and monetisation strategies are making a notable impact.

Now, more than ever, it is vital to prioritise the integration of next-gen technologies such as AI and machine learning, alongside next-gen measurement solutions like incrementality and media mix modelling (MMM), into marketing strategies. Enhancing user experiences and bolstering security and data privacy measures with these technologies will be essential.

These efforts are crucial for developing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of consumers and businesses alike. Adjust’s data also reveals a renewed interest in cryptocurrency trading and management. Finance apps that support these activities are well positioned to capitalise on this resurgence as regulatory environments become more defined.

Moreover, the rise in mobile payments and banking illustrates a shift towards digital-first financial solutions. With over two billion people using mobile payments globally, the sky’s the limit for finance companies to find and monetise app users.

To address the challenge of user retention, marketers and developers can implement targeted strategies tailored to their audience’s needs. This includes providing a personalised onboarding experience to quickly demonstrate the app’s value, segmenting communication to deliver relevant content and leveraging in-app messaging and push notifications for timely updates. Incorporating gamification elements, such as challenges and rewards, can also incentivise continued engagement while fostering a sense of community among users and encouraging peer-to-peer support.

What’s more, by continuously gathering feedback and optimising the app experience based on data-driven insights, marketers and developers can create a more engaging and valuable user experience, leading to improved retention rates and long-term success in the competitive fintech landscape.

Gathering feedback and data also serves another purpose of enabling marketers to improve their measurement. The first is traditional attribution, which matches a mobile installation or another event to credit the marketing effort or channel responsible. Technology, however, is allowing marketers to look beyond just attribution. Next-gen methodologies incorporate traditional attribution with incrementality and MMM.

Incrementality means measuring the impact of a marketing initiative on specific key performance indicators (KPIs) such as instals or in-app purchases compared to baseline, organic performance.

Meanwhile, MMM uses data analysis to forecast the influence of marketing initiatives on a brand’s return on investment (ROI) by evaluating external factors and offline activities alongside digital marketing efforts.

Together, these three methods are highly complementary. Attribution offers immediate insights, incrementality helps optimise mid-term strategies and MMM forecasts long-term decisions. Collectively, they underpin next-gen measurement and enable mobile app marketers to make critical decisions without relying solely on device-level data.

Artificial intelligence, meanwhile, will undoubtedly play an increasingly valuable role in mobile application marketing success. AI algorithms allow marketers to meticulously analyse vast quantities of user data spanning behaviour, preferences and interactions.

This both informs future campaigns and helps marketers create highly personalised customer experiences. Given customers’ high preference for a personal touch in their brand interactions, this level of personalisation is essential for long-term retention.

As we navigate the ever evolving landscape of fintech applications, it is clear that the future holds immense promise and opportunities.

The increase in app instals and sessions observed in 2023 highlights the boundless potential for innovation and expansion in the fintech sector.

However, this optimistic outlook is tempered by the significant challenge of retaining users. To capitalise on this momentum and sustain success, marketers and developers must remain flexible, adaptive and forward-thinking.

By harnessing emerging technologies, utilising data-driven insights and crafting engaging user experiences, they can tackle the obstacles in the industry and continue the trend of resilience that has been evident in recent years.

April Tayson is regional vice-president for India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand at Adjust, an end-to-end marketing analytics platform

Save by subscribing to us for
your print and/or
digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on
Apple’s App Store and
Android’s Google Play.