Over the past few years’ we’ve seen an increase in the number of Banks in gaming. Team and event sponsorships were the first options for financial companies. Now we are starting to see collaboration efforts such as Barclays’ partnership with National Student Esports (NSE) league and Ukie, the game publisher body, in the UK.
Barclay’s have a full page dedicated to explaining their activities and mission in the gaming space. It refreshing to see a wider games industry focus and supporting developers to better engage with customers around purchase behaviour.
Banks have lots of data around customer behaviour and purchase habits. I see an opportunity for them to develop the skills and knowledge of Gen-Z in preparation for the changing dynamics of the world.
In our recent research into the sports industry, we found reports suggesting that Gen-Z are less interested in watching live sports matches and are less likely to fit the description of an “avid” sports fan. Their content consumption preferences are also very different . They have a greater focus on video-first platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube.
Gen-Z users are already immersed in the digital space with a lot of time spent playing games and spending money.
How banks can use transaction data to identify trends
Banks will already have an idea of what is being spent due to the data they have access to. As an example, here’s a recent payment I made to buy some items in Fortnite on my PlayStation. The purchase is tagged as “PlayStationNetwork” so my bank will be able to run a search to identify all purchase from “PlayStationNetwork”. This will give them two pictures – the number of customers purchasing and the volume/value of transactions.
Banks may not be permitted to go into explicit detail due to privacy laws but there are opportunities. Taking a top line approach of number of customers and volume of transactions/value will paint an interesting picture.
Armed with this knowledge how can banks use gaming to build a service offering that appeals to Gen-Z? How can those service offerings be built in a way that supports society?
How can you use gaming in banking?
Most personal banking accounts have some sort of reward mechanic whether it is cashback, points or something else. What if there was a mechanism to reward positive behaviour with gaming related rewards?
It is important to point out that I’m not suggesting customers get rewarded for purchasing inside games. However, gaming could be used as a reward mechanism with in-game items, merchandise or event tickets. Paying bills on-time or putting some money into a savings account could unlock gaming-related rewards relevant to the existing knowledge about the customer.
What about learning and creative power?
The SellCell chart above highlights that some purchases are made in Roblox and Minecraft. Both are world-building style games. Can the world-building experiences be carried across into other areas of life or education? How can the creative power of young people be harnessed for positive change?
Could a personal account for younger customers have an element of play-and-earn? The playing element could be coding challenges, use of digital skills or other useful measurable outcomes to better position them for their future? Barclays already have some skill/coding-based activities but I don’t yet see it tied to rewards or benefits. It is likely their young customers will see this offering as a side quest rather than the main storyline quest and so won’t pay much attention to it. Looking from the outside it doesn’t look to offer the excitement of achievement, instant gratification or the ability to share with the world and gain praise from peers – all the things Gen-Z have come to expect from their digital experiences.
One of the biggest challenges that businesses face is engaging with the young people of today. They have different views of the world and the technology and experiences they have access to. Any engagement attempt needs to be authentic and relevant and this extends to products and services, not just communication.
Building a product or service offering using gaming that considers the behaviour and expectations of Gen-Z can support both acquisition and retention. This can generate long-term upside for banks.
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