While looking for new solutions in the financial sector, banking industry professionals might have come across the term “Gamification”. This revolutionary tool has already gained widespread recognition in education, iGaming, healthcare, food & beverage industry, software, Fintech, fitness, and many other fields. When it comes to banks, however, Gamification is sometimes looked at with a certain dose of skepticism. In this piece, we’ll banish those doubts by making a case for the numerous advantages and benefits of Gamification in the banking sector.
What Is Gamification In Banking?
Gamification is a tool used by various industries that increases customer engagement and loyalty while substantially driving revenue. It achieves this by rewarding users for positive actions and turning even the most mundane tasks into enjoyable experiences. In banking, Gamification can be used to boost customer retention, financial literacy, and interest while reducing the hesitancy and fear sometimes associated with pressing financial matters.
Gamification introduces gaming elements into non-gaming applications to provide a more positive customer experience and, as a result, increase revenue rates.
Why Gamification Is A Great Solution For Traditional Banking?
The financial sector is known for its resistance to transformation, and to a certain degree, this is not surprising. At the end of the day, people entrust these businesses with their hard-earned cash, so room for error and experimentation with new technologies is not always welcomed.
Naturally, there is a huge downside to all this, as resistance to change can often lead to slow development and a feeling among clients that the business they’ve entrusted their finances with is not evolving with the times. This can cause people to become more distrustful, and that’s especially the case with the younger generation, who usually prefer that the businesses they interact with are keeping up with the rest of the world.
Also, trust is a key concern for customers when it comes to the financial sector. For people to feel that their money is safe, they need to feel that the institution knows what it’s doing and it’s looking out for them in every way possible.
Thankfully, now there are convincing reasons why the financial industry can benefit from Gamification.
The banking industry is more than ready for Gamification because it’s an industry where customers are already dealing with numbers and tracking progress. For example, the majority of people keep track of their credit scores and the balance in their savings accounts. Gamification can help banks take advantage of this mindset to use it to motivate users to take part in activities that will be of great financial benefit to them down the road. Banks could, for example, offer people the option of tracking their savings progress for a down payment on a property or retirement. This would give them a true feeling of achievement as they witness their own financial betterment through a timeline.
5 Examples Of Gamification In Banking
Many banks have come to realize that banking doesn’t have to be strict, and there is sometimes room for positive experimenting. With this attitude, they uncovered the true benefits of applying Gamification in the banking sector. Here are 5 amazing examples of how they did it:
1. PNC Bank (USA)
PNC Bank has a long history of trying to get depositors involved in setting better investment goals and achieving them. And that is why they introduced their Virtual Wallet – a mix between a checking and a savings account. The Virtual Wallet allows people to transfer money between different accounts depending on the reason, no matter if a bill is being paid or if it’s a long or short-term investment. Also, to encourage customers to save more, PNC created a Gamification feature called Punch the Pig. When a customer is doing their banking online, a virtual piggy bank pops out, encouraging them to transfer money from their regular account to their savings.
2. Jyske Bank (Denmark)
Even though Jyske Bank has a website where people can play their children’s games at their leisure, they were created especially for kids to play when their families go to visit their bank branch. The professionals at Jyske knew that clients would sometimes come in with their kids, and they wanted to provide a pleasant experience the whole family could benefit from. Although this may not be your usual customer service experience, it proved to be a clever way for Jyske to make their clients a little happier and more engaged with their service.
3. BBVA Bank (Spain)
BBVA came up with a unique Gamification approach to drive customer loyalty and engagement. Their game includes tutorials and special information on best practices for paying taxes and doing online transactions. Clients can collect points by completing challenges and use them to purchase music, films, mobile phones, event tickets, and more. The app was able to draw in more than 100,000 users in just half a year and they showed an 18% increase in satisfaction compared to regular users.
4. NBD Bank (United Arab Emirates)
NBD Bank’s Fitness Account app has done wonders for its developers, who have famously claimed that it “turns health into wealth”. The sports app was created especially for the Apple watch and it counts people’s daily steps, which it then returns as interest on savings, insurance, or discounts. The Fitness Account app has already made massive waves on the App Store with tons of positive reviews and active users who back its usefulness.
5. Commonwealth Bank (Australia)
Years ago, Commonwealth Bank released Investorville – a virtual experience in which users can buy and own property. They can also apply for various types of mortgages, perform renovations, and learn what’s involved in paying property taxes. During gameplay, people who are buying property for the first time can see what their financial decisions can lead to and analyze potential pitfalls without the real risk that usually comes with using personal funds for property purchasing.
Final Words
Banking is one of the most serious industries, and for good reason. However, Gamification is not just about making serious things fun. It has the power to boost customer engagement, drive loyalty, motivation, and much more, and banks all over the world are adopting it to bring in more customers and keep them immersed in their services while also helping them become better savers and investors. Banking Gamification has shown massive potential and a steadily increasing number of people and businesses are actively seeking it out.
In short, Gamification in Banking is here to stay and we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the near and far future!