Gamification in Banking Services- How can it help FinTech Start-ups?

The development and strengthening of their business models through cutting-edge strategies has become increasingly important for banks as they seek to maintain their relevance and position in the market when compared to other financial institutions, as well as to find new ways of interacting with and adapting to the current demands of an increasingly digitized user.

What exactly is the term "Gamification" in banking?

There is little doubt that modern banking clients' requirements, preferences, and expectations have shifted dramatically. To address these issues effectively, gamification has emerged as a viable alternative to the current paradigm shift. Gamification involves the integration of design tools and game elements into processes in order to solve problems, improve user participation, increase platform productivity while also developing a series of learnings as well as increase customer loyalty.

Today's banking institutions require innovative ways, and gamification has provided the motivation that they have been looking for. Banks have implemented this approach in order to strengthen their interaction with their clients because banking activities are viewed as uninteresting by the majority of consumers, and the benefits of a good financial product are not immediately apparent. 

On the basis of this principle, several institutions have decided to include a game dynamic into their operations, adopting reward schemes such as the following:

• When badges are earned in particular programs, they are given to the user in order to recognize them for completing specified activities or meeting specific objectives.
• Ranking: This refers to a categorization table in which customers are positioned according to their achievements, with the goal of encouraging user rivalry and, as a result, increasing engagement and loyalty among consumers.

Gamification of banking services is becoming increasingly popular!

Multiple statistics demonstrate that gamification, when used as a marketing strategy, is completely justified. However, it is a plan that entails the expenditure of billions of dollars in order to succeed. While some businesses are currently considering how to utilize gamification to engage customers, others have already experimented with game features such as quests, rankings, badges, and levels to achieve a variety of internal and external objectives.

It is vital to note that the banks that are at the forefront of gamification are those that apply game design components and ideas in a systematic and methodical manner to achieve success. This is because the size and assets of a bank are not the most important factors in attracting and maintaining customers' attention; rather, the real added value is the experience that the bank provides them: it is about joy and rewards, that is, things that people obtain as a result of participating in games.

What are the obstacles that gamification in banking must overcome?

The most difficult difficulty that banks that use gamification in their services confront is gaining acceptance and knowledge from their customers. It is understandable that people are wary of the games offered by banks because they do not want someone else to play with their money. As a result, banks must carefully consider which components of the user experience will be implemented, while also taking data security and account privacy into consideration.

A common misconception is that games are only for children. This is known as the "childhood stereotype." This is not correct. Games are a constant companion throughout our lives, and it is crucial to note that social networks are also a type of game in which about 2.77 billion people from all over the world participate, regardless of their age or location. Because of this, gamification in banking has the potential to be a successful means of increasing financial inclusion.

Gamification in Banking Faces a Number of Difficulties

Many different techniques are currently being implemented by banks in order to optimize the usage of their digital channels for both their own and their customers' benefits. So the gamification of banking services seeks to establish itself as one of the most essential instruments for those working in the financial sector.

1. Customer loyalty: By implementing this practical solution, banking entities will be able to rely on a user who has an emotional or rational bond with Banking, as a result of the reward system that allows customers to experience personalized processes, thereby generating them to provide specific data to through new functions in digital platforms to provoke a natural preference for your dependable financial institution.
2. The implementation of gamification in banking aims to improve the bank's management results for the benefit of the bank and its customers because it intends for collaborators to be trained in such a way that they obtain the necessary tools and knowledge to manage clients either personally or virtually in order to achieve the best possible service for the customers.
3. Product innovation in the banking industry: For a financial institution, staying active with new and improved products is the most difficult challenge. Consequently, technology implementation is critical for providing novel financial services, and gamification is the most effective method of attracting new clients to your business. As a result, the user will be able to accumulate a collection of learning experiences.

The Bottom Line

To summarize, gamification is a highly successful method for generating good and individualized experiences for users; nevertheless, using it in banking operations can be a difficult undertaking. Undoubtedly, banks attempting to implement this alternative in their services will need to make significant adjustments to their own business processes, organizational structures, and operations.