What I learned about fintech gamification by dropping teriyaki salmon on my shirt
I was sitting with two colleagues eating teriyaki salmon for lunch whilst playing Pokémon Go. It was an exciting lunch because the Japanese restaurant was sandwiched in-between two poké stops and lures. So there the three of us were, throwing poké balls left and right, when suddenly it happened: Magmar appeared.
I dropped my teriyaki salmon onto my beautifully pressed and clean white shirt. I am not a gamer… at least I thought I wasn’t. Until that moment. Somehow, I’d joined the hordes on the streets of Sydney addicted to flicking poké balls at Magmars, Dodrios and Seels.
For now, I work in fintech product management. When ‘Poké Hunter’ becomes a paid job, things may change.
In the meantime, let me share with you what I learned about myself, our product Onefill, and my industry whilst playing Pokémon Go.
Making the ordinary extraordinary
For most people, walking is just part of everyday life. Throw a few pokémons in my path, however, and all of a sudden walking is fun and I want to go walking more often. Whether this was intentional or not, Pokémon Go has got us moving — and done it brilliantly. It has reimagined a thoughtless yet necessary action, and this type of gamification has huge implications for industries where other necessary yet thoughtless interactions are required.
The super repeat customer
Imagine creating a product that’s so addictive a customer wants to use it every 30 minutes. Pokémon Go shows us just how real a possibility this is if fintech and bank partnerships get together and harness this power. At best, banks are used to one-way, semi-regular relationships with their customers. Pokémon Go has proven that with the right mix of rewards and engagement, customers will start interacting with banks at worst several times a day.
Technology assisted impulse control
If you offer a kid one marshmallow and tell them, “if you wait I will give you two”, their decision to either eat one now or wait for two speaks volumes. It turns out that those who wait always get the better deal — not just with marshmallows, but throughout their lives. Through gamification, I can see how banks could teach this socially vital and fiscally responsible skill to people who aren’t fortunate enough to learn it at marshmallow age. Because fiscally responsible customers always pay back their loans.
Enhancing how banks work through tailored gamified products
People save and bank everyday. There is nothing new here. However, electrifying this mundane task through gamified bank accounts is the next big thing. Rolling out gamified products where the game and goal match up takes this Pokémon phenomenon to a place with real benefits for customers and windfalls for the bank. Some examples might be a ‘saving for your holiday’ game, a ‘putting $20k into your savings account’ game, a ‘buying your first home’ game. These are all games with real benefits.
Community accountability is the tangible reason to level up
Connecting with other gamers in your account creates social accountability, making playing the ‘save for a holiday’ game much more exciting. Gamers could meet other gamers at landmarks similar to poké stops to socialise and swap stories and tips.
Offers at the right moment, in the right place
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that superimposes a digital layer on the physical world. As you walk through the physical world, pokémons appear in your path. This is a game changer for banks and shoppers alike. Currently banks are only able to make time-sensitive offers. With geolocation, banks will be able make time and location based offers. Imagine walking past a shop that sells sunglasses. Through search data, software will know you’ve looked at a pair of sunglasses recently online, and you’ll be offered those same sunglasses at a discounted price as you walk past the store.
Keeping things personal
The way you spend money is deeply personal. It says a lot about your lifestyle, and no matter how close a person is to you, you may feel a little uncomfortable if they find out exactly how you spend your money. Consequently, the golden path to gamifying finance may well be privacy. While there is definitely fun to be had with the more social finance-based games I mentioned earlier, particularly if you’re saving for a holiday with a group of friends, a game that involves competing against yourself could be the winning ticket.
My poké name is Omarandradehunt, and I am a junior product manager for Onefill at Sydney fintech Maxwell Forest. You can find me here and here.
