Economic uncertainty gives fintech apps a boost

The COVID-19 crisis has led to major economic as well as health concerns and new research from mobile app marketing company Liftoff in partnership with analytics platform App Annie shows more people are turning to mobile apps to manage their money.

The report analyzed 22 billion ad impressions across 382 million clicks, seven million app installs, and five million first-time events in 117 apps for the full calendar year 2019. It shows that the self-reliant nature of contemporary fintech apps has taken precedence over legacy banking apps, a trend that is likely to continue in the current economic climate.

"With the global impact and financial uncertainty around COVID-19, money management is key," says Liftoff CEO and co-founder Mark Ellis. "In the coming year, finance app marketers should consider incentivizing users with campaigns that offer support in uncertain times; resources like tutorials and webinars could help acquire and retain users looking to take control of their finances."

In the last year, fintech apps like Mint have seen a 20 percent increase in monthly active users -- five percent more than for top banking apps -- while counting one more wallet app session per user per week than their traditional counterparts.

However, while registrations of apps are up more than 70 percent year-on-year, Liftoff's data still suggests hesitation when it comes to actually using them, such as making a first investment. The research shows average user registration was completed within 14 minutes of install, but install-to-activation rose to 11 hours and 35 minutes -- an increase of more than 1,000 percent over last year.

You can find out more in the full report on the Liftoff site.

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