Gamification in Investment Apps: How it’s Changing The Financial Landscape

On my 18th birthday the first thing I did was get my PAN Card made. Since college was right around the corner, I somehow came to the conclusion that it was time to be disciplined and responsible.

In my eyes the best way to do that was to meticulously start investing. At least that was my thought process after having watched hours worth of motivational youtube videos titled “The Only Guide You Need To Gain Financial Independence”.

After having received my PAN card in a few weeks, I proceeded to create an account on Groww; an online investment platform. And with the 1000 Rupees my father had given me, I splurged all that money on penny stocks, and random SIP’s without any prior knowledge on how this domain worked.

Naturally, I watched that money slowly disappear into the abyss as I sat there thinking to myself where I’d gone wrong. One thing I knew for sure is the fact that I didn’t learn about investing and neither did find the existing methods interesting enough.

It’s true that the world of investing can often seem complex and intimidating to the average individual. Just like it did to me. However, in today's day and age, with the rise of technology and innovative approaches, investment apps have emerged as accessible tools that drastically simplify the investment process.

Among these advancements, gamification stands out as one of the most if not the most powerful strategy to transform investment apps into engaging and user-friendly platforms.

By incorporating game-like mechanics and elements, investment apps can level up the investing experience and empower users to take control of their financial future.

Top Gamification Techniques That Impact Investment Apps:

In this blog, let us look at how gamification is revolutionizing investment apps along with discussing real-life applications that help showcase its transformative impact.

Making Learning Fun: Interactive Investment Education

One of the biggest challenges in traditional investing is educating users about the various financial concepts and strategies relevant in today’s age. When I started investing, the huge cluster of technical jargon's being thrown at me led to massive confusion. More importantly, I found it extremely hard to find consolidated resources that made learning such a technical subject a fun process.

Gamification brings a fun, quirky and interactive approach to investment education within apps. For instance, some investment apps offer quizzes, challenges, and even interactive courses to teach their users about basic financial literacy, investment principles, and risk management.

An example of such an app would be Robinhood, a popular investment app, that offers a "Learn" section with easy-to-understand articles and videos. Users can also participate in quizzes to test their knowledge and even earn badges as they progress. This gamified education system makes learning about investing so much more entertaining and encourages users to stay engaged with the app.

Setting Goals and Achieving Milestones

American author, coach and speaker Tony Robbins says, “Setting goals is the first step to turning the invisible into the visible”. Investment apps help do just that by using gamification to encourage users to set financial goals and track their progress.

By breaking down long-term objectives into smaller milestones, investors can celebrate their achievements and stay motivated throughout their investment journey.

To illustrate with an example, Acorns, a micro-investing app, allows users to set up personalized investment goals, such as saving for a vacation or building an emergency fund.

How it works is simple: As users continue to contribute to their investment accounts, the app showcases their progress with visual representations and notifications when they reach significant milestones or levels. This gamified approach creates a sense of accomplishment and motivates users to continue investing regularly.

Virtual Portfolios: Practice Without Risk

As an ardent Formula 1 fan I love watching the entire process of a F1 season unfold, from preseason all the way to the last race in Abu Dhabi. What interests me most is how the drivers accustom themselves to tracks and cars and measure their performance even before they step on the track.

The method used to help them get familiar with the track, steering controls and overall feel, is a real time virtual simulation. While this method is also used in sports like golf, I did not expect it to be applied in the investment domain in such a smart manner.

Gamification in this aspect enables investment apps to offer virtual portfolios, allowing users to practice investing without having them risk real money. This feature is especially valuable for novice investors who want to gain confidence and learn investment strategies before committing their funds.

You can find this very application of virtual portfolios in Webull, a commission-free trading app that provides a virtual trading platform where users can simulate real-market scenarios with virtual money. This gamified feature allows users to test their investment ideas, learn from mistakes, and fine-tune their strategies without any financial repercussions.

Rewards and Incentives: Earn While You Invest

User engagement is of prime importance to any application. This is no different to investment apps. With a vast sea of competition to go up against, investment apps need to be able to consistently keep up their number of active users.

Hence to promote active engagement, investment apps employ rewards and incentives through gamification. By offering points, badges, or cashback for completing certain tasks or achieving investment milestones, users are encouraged to stay committed to their investment journey.

Have a look at Stash as an example, an investment app focused on ETFs and fractional shares, implements a gamified reward system called "Stash Challenges." Through these, users can participate in various challenges, such as investing a certain amount or making recurring contributions, to earn points. These points can then be redeemed for cash back or gift cards, creating a sense of excitement and accomplishment.

Social Engagement: Building Investment Communities

It’s a very well known fact that to learn something new effectively, it’s best to engage with a community of like minded people from that same domain.

Gamification is a boon in this aspect as it helps foster social interaction within investment apps, allowing users to share their achievements and progress with their peers. By creating investment communities, users can exchange ideas, discuss strategies, and provide support to one another.

Public, for example, is a social investing app that encourages users to share their investment portfolios publicly. Investors can then follow other users and see their trades, creating a sense of community and transparency. The app also offers a "Trending" feature that showcases popular stocks among the user base, promoting discussions and ethical information-sharing.

Conclusion

Gamification has without a doubt transformed the world of investment apps, revolutionizing the way users all across the globe interact with their financial goals and investments. By using Flyy to integrate game-like elements, your investment app too can make investing much more accessible, engaging, and enjoyable for users of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Investment applications such as Robinhood, Acorns, Webull, Stash, and Public, demonstrate exactly how gamification has impacted the investment experience, and in the process encouraging users to become more informed, disciplined, and confident investors.

As this trend continues to evolve, gamification will play an increasingly significant role in shaping the future of investment apps, empowering users to level up their investments and secure a brighter financial future.