New Report Shows Global Downloads For Finance Apps Rose 75% To 5.9 Billion In 2021

The latest analysis by DataAI has shown how massive of an impact the mobile app industry had on the finance sector.

The logic is simple, those without banking want to access while others simply are a fan of sheer convenience. After all, everything we do from buying, paying, borrowing, saving, and investing can now be done through the click of a button on your smartphone.

But the revolution did not come so easily. We saw it arise through two different stages with the first one being mobile banking applications. Here is where users could make fund transfers, keep a check on their account’s finances, and also stay aligned with their budget.

Next came the arrival of payments with which we saw contactless functionality. To put it simply, it wouldn’t be wrong to call your phone a wallet.

And then came the pandemic that enhanced the digital world and we saw smartphones taking over. Now, we’re watching a recent report by State of Mobile that was recently launched. It paved the way for increases in finance app downloads which have now reached a staggering value of 5.9 billion.


A special mention must be made to the Latin American region where several nations like Brazil and Mexico show growth figures as high as 250% and 175%. This just goes to show how much potential this area has in terms of a financial boom in technology.

Another very similar endeavor took place in India but we must mention that this transition had less to do with the world of banking and was more related to payment methods like GooglePay and Paytm. These have literally revolutionized the way consumers shop over the years.

Therefore, India witnessed more than double the download figures in yearly finance applications. And this coupled with the country’s own governmental efforts to reduce cash dependence and focus more on digital payments was worth a mention.

Fintech apps are most popular with Gen Z

This is a no-brainer. Fintech apps were mostly loved and adopted by the Gen Z smartphone users in comparison to the older lot that loves classic online banking options through brands.

When it came down to rankings of the top applications for active users, the options present as the leading five included Fintech brands and in that, we saw some money transfer applications, trading products, and neobanks as well.

In case you may be a little shocked at why Gen Z users are so interested in all of this, well, they’re the ones that don’t have any spare cash for investments. Hence, with the help of mobile apps, they can conduct investments in small amounts.

YONO SBI led the pack with the most number of user downloads in 2021

In terms of the most popular neobank, we saw YONO SBI become a leader in terms of the most downloads. Interestingly, this wasn’t a product from any startup but an effort put forward by India’s own government, where downloads went up to 54 million.
Second place went to Nubank with nearly 38 million monthly active users, while PicPay took the third position with 23 million monthly active users.

These neobanks deserve a special mention because they’re trying hard to fill in the gaps left behind by classic banks in the retail industry.

The entry of PayPal and the booming world of crypto

Last year we saw PayPal blast the crypto world to new heights of success when it decided to launch an exciting endeavor called Checkout with Crypto. This allowed so many users to make payments at some merchant stores using their cryptocurrency.

All of the transactions made were done in US dollars and we saw many people get accustomed to new and safer handling of the modern-day trend without any additional fees.

And that is one of the reasons why we saw PayPal jump to the top of the list in terms of the crypto charts. But that does not mean PayPay isn’t surrounded by plenty of other competitors in the market.

Yes, the demand for crypto apps is huge and it continues to remain a space where many are willing to experiment. For instance, we saw India’s CoinDCX come into play. It boosted to number nine in terms of download apps from across the globe, allowing it more room to get funding for improvement.

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