“There’s an app for just about anything,” Apple declared in a 2009 iPhone commercial. That statement would be if anything even more accurate today, with the rise of super apps that aim to do almost everything themselves.
Super apps, which provide a variety of different services within a single interface, first emerged and have found the most success in China. With the country’s rapid adoption of smartphones and sparse data regulations, leading super apps WeChat and Alipay have been able to build an expansive ecosystem of services and amass more than a billion active users.
In the United States and Europe, where privacy and data laws are more restrictive and competition is stiffer, super apps have yet to catch on in a similar way. But it may not be long before they do. Fintech super apps, for instance, are aiming to “change money forever.” And they are making headway, thanks to the growing prevalence of cryptocurrencies, digital trading and neo banks.
Paypal is moving swiftly forward with its much-touted plan to become a Fintech super app, including a revamped digital wallet and numerous other new services such as messaging, check cashing, cryptocurrency support, bill pay, budgeting tools, subscription management and shopping tools. Popular mobile trading app Robinhood and digital payments company Square are also growing their range of services quickly—as is ambitious London-based neobank Revolut.
Expanding an app’s services to extract more value from users is an enticing prospect, but risk compromising its usefulness if not done carefully. As The Financial Times’ Tim Bradshaw puts it, “Most super apps are not super great,” because they “solve a problem for the company, not the customer.” New services also add additional degrees of complexity to the daunting and ever-evolving challenges of Fintech cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. These are all factors for contenders to keep in mind as they vie to become the top Fintech super app of tomorrow.
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