The Coronavirus pandemic is driving a significant rise in the use of Fintech apps. According to a recent survey by the deVere Group, the use of fintech apps in Europe has increased by 72%. This is an indication that one of the long terms effects of the epidemic will be a more digitized society. Another reason is that people now need the tools to take control of their finances during these difficult times.
Banking apps are now essential financial survival tools
Perhaps the most striking statistic is from a survey by Nucoro. It found that 12% of the adult population in the UK — some six million people — downloaded their bank’s app for the first time between 14th March and 14th April, during the Coronavirus lockdown.
Taking control of finances, one install at a time
We also see a significant increase in the use of our PFM app, which we run in Iceland. This sophisticated financial coach aggregates banking data from the three major Icelandic banks and is a showcase for the functionality of the Meniga banking platform and APIs. For the past week, the number of daily active users has increased by 13% We expect this number to rise rapidly since the number of daily installs of the app has multiplied by a factor of five or six in the past few days.
We also now hear from many lapsed users who want to reactivate their Meniga accounts.
Ready-made tool for personal financial management during crisis
Meniga was founded in the financial crisis which shook the world a decade ago. The Meniga platform and digital banking APIs had their origin in 2009 when our three founders started the company to improve people’s financial lives. This mission has been unchanged since our humble beginnings when the first version of the Meniga PFM solution was available through one Icelandic bank. Our mission has never been as important when we touch the lives of about 90 million people through dozens of our banking partners around the world in these uncertain times.
The Meniga digital banking APIs power global banking innovation around the world
The tried and tested Meniga digital banking platform enables banks to build engaging and personalised financial management apps. The collection of APIs significantly reduces development time so banks can quickly deliver the tools people need for financial self-help.
What does this mean for banks?
For banks, the message is clear. Your banking apps and financial coaches may once have been considered “nice to have” additions to other distribution and service channels. Times have changed. Digital banking now encompasses the crucial financial survival tools for your customers need in uncertain times. Is your bank able to deliver all financial advice and the services people need so they can emerge from this crisis financially strong? Or will they find this with competitors who have already invested in essential digital banking services?
Whether your bank wants to extend its lead or quickly overtake digital leaders, we at Meniga have the tried and tested tools for your bank to succeed.
The Meniga digital banking platform and APIs
Basic PFM — enrich your banking app
User profiles
Highlight the most interesting information available to the user
Cards and accounts
Users see all cards and accounts in one place. Highlight the most interesting information available to the user
Budget
Banking app users can plan and monitor finances
Search and filter
Make it easy for people to find transactions with a faceted ‘Google-like’ search across all cards and accounts
Advanced PFM — encourage people to save
Challenges
Challenge customers to save and encourage them to use your deposit products
Cashflow assistant
Help customers to avoid overspending and engage them with the right financing at the right time
Net worth
Show customers an overview of assets and liabilities, and recommend the right products
Community
Enable customers to compare themselves with peers
Savings goals
our customers can set savings goals and boost their deposits at your bank when they are successful
Insights and engagement — rival the engagement of social media apps
Activity feed
Give your users a social media-like feed with insights, advice, offers and recommendations
Built-in user events
Show users weekly and monthly reports, notify them about deposits, unusual transactions amount, budget, and funds available. Notifications for merchant & transaction are also available.
Custom user events
Create special user events geared to towards engaging your customers. The possibilities are virtually limitless
Reports
Your customers will love the easy to use expense reports with extensive filtering capabilities