After a few years of meteoric growth — fueled partly by the necessities of life during COVID-19 lockdown — FinTech apps have hit new highs in 2022. Data from Sensor Tower found that worldwide downloads of FinTech apps exceeded 6.1 billion in 2021 — representing an increase of over 25% year-over-year. That trend continued into Q1 2022, when downloads of FinTech apps reached a new high of 1.74 billion.

FinTech apps are a diverse group — ranging from payment apps to online banking to crypto trading. Despite their diversity, each of these apps faces the same challenges — finding the right users who are likely to do more than just download. FinTech marketers want users who will take action, such as setting up a direct deposit account or applying for a loan. With these hurdles to success, finding the right users is integral to achieving real growth — and often, FinTech marketers need to look outside the traditional user acquisition (UA) channels of search and social media.

At FeedMob, we’re witnessing a few very clear trends in FinTech UA — and we are here to share them with you.

#1 Incent networks

Over the past five months, we’ve seen incent networks rise to the top of the charts when it comes to FinTech UA. Incent ad networks are ad platforms that sell incentivized inventory, where users are rewarded for completing an ad action.

Rewarded ads are increasingly popular among app users and require engagement. While not all app types lend themselves to incentivized ads, FinTech apps do. Imagine an ad that offers you $50 directly deposited to your new account after you connect a direct deposit to your account. Free money is a great incentive for users — and one that traditional banks have used for decades.

Learn more about incent campaigns with this case study.

#2 OEM placements

OEM placements — also known as pre-loads — were in second place for FinTech clients for three out of the five months we looked into.

OEM Networks have partnerships with cellular carriers and phone manufacturers that monetize their inventory via new device activations, push notifications, widgets, and pre-installed apps. This supply type — only available on Android devices — is popular as a high-value, lower-cost approach allowing marketers to target specific devices and carriers. This works well for FinTech because many apps are targeting users in a specific (often lower) income bracket, and those users can be easily found among specific carriers.

Learn more about OEM placements for Fintech with this case study.

#3 DSPs

Sliding into third place are DSPs. Also known as programmatic networks, they automate the buying and selling of mobile ad inventory, making it easier to buy audience segments across a wide variety of publishers. 

While DSPs are typically the most expensive option, they enjoy overall popularity among app marketers because of their wide reach. FinTechs, as we have already said, are often looking for very specific users — who often have the potential to be very lucrative — making the initial cost of acquisition less important.

To learn more about growing your app in new channels, explore our blog post Looking Beyond Search and Social for App Growth.