A Customer Experience Gamification Study: Levelling Up Personal Finance

How cool would it be if personal finance journeys are like games?

I just want a bit more interest for my savings – I have a UOB One account and an OCBC 360 account, and contemplating a DBS Multiplier account (can’t deny those bunnies are cute). But it’s mighty tough to track and recall all the things I need to do to qualify for the different tiers of interest. UOB has kickstarted something akin to game mechanics with the Interest Tracker, and I look forward to deeper customization of the gamification – fresh fund injection needed to reach next interest tier and calculated expected interest for the month.

The idea of gamification in finance is nothing novel. The question is how to gamify. There are a wide variety of game genres – different game mechanics attract different people. The National Steps Challenge by HPB utilized to good effect the PLB game reward mechanism, and the gameplay itself is pretty easy and straightforward – pair a steps tracker to the app and start walking.

So what if banks could gamify personal finance entirely? Banks provide a vast array of services, not just savings accounts, and many of these services are relevant to and suitable for the majority of banking customers. Non-card spending, insurance, investment, loans, transfers and remittance could all be included in a full gamified banking interface. Flexible goals (like NAV’s Map Your Money), mini-rewards (like City of TMRW), seasonal events (like UOB Savings Festival), achievement unlocking (like credit card point redemptions) and other gamification concepts could further spice up the digital banking experience.

And I think the RPG genre is going to suit the gamification of personal finance more than others.

This opinion article is contributed by Kwan Bo Wen, Principal Strategist of Nebulex Consulting.

Note: This article represents the ideas, opinions and observations of representatives of Nebulex Consulting, and is by no means indicative of any form of affiliation to, endorsement of, advertising for or any other relation with the mentioned entities.