14 | Global Finance | February 2013

Infosys Strategic Vision

Gamification: Play BankingBy Sam Felix Pradeep Kumar, Lead Consultant, Consumer Banking Practice and

Tejasvi Addagada, Senior Associate Consultant, Consumer Banking Practice

Presently, the banking industry is going through a paradigm shift, with banks adopting social media not just to gauge customer satisfaction, but as an alternate, prime banking channel. What comes next is uncertain, but one significant trend that is rapidly gaining traction is gamification.

WHAT IS GAMIFICATION? Gamification is the concept of employing gaming techniques in a non-game environment—like banking—to drive user experience and, consequently, customer

satisfaction. For instance, there are multiple ways for a customer to apply for a loan:

1. Visit the nearest branch and complete the application2. Fill out a text-based online application3. Fill out an online application in a gamified

environment with interactive, narrative contentAlthough the first two options are still in vogue, branch

banking is on the wane and, today, text-based online loan applications are by far the most predominant method used to apply for loans. However, what about user experience,

Banks have come a long way in shifting their focus from the traditional branch banking channel to online banking. The initial websites were built for banks to host static data and provide information. With the onset of the banking transaction wave, an entire generation

of products and services were made available online, thereby enabling customers to bank anytime, anywhere.

Bank Gamification Scenarios domain dynamics Financial • Educative videos Gamification can help customers determine how a product suits their real planning • Social content sharing needs. Further, sharing social content on the site provides customers with • Narrative approach opinions on how a product has helped other customers. Challenges and • Rewards rewards help customers exhibit rational behavior towards financial planning. • Challenges

Consumer loan • Points Using gamification principles, the current scenario of an un-interesting webpage applications • Progress paths for loan applications can be changed to help the customer see their progress all along. This will induce stickiness while improving customer experience. Online deposit • Leader boards Banks can inculcate their customers with an inclination to saving by accounts • Badges implementing “leader boards”, so that the customer gets to know where they • Content sharing stand against peers. Also providing rewards or badges on achieving saving • Rewards goals can be encouraging to the customer. Trade platforms • Content sharing Gamification offers tremendous potential in the area of trade platforms. • Leader boards Users can range in level from beginners to masters. Creating leader boards • Badges or levels can help them understand their investing behavior as compared to • Points others. Content sharing by users or masters motivates them to share more • Narrative approach and helps novices. Narrative videos and avatars also play an important role owing to the complexity of trade services offered by the bank.

Back-office • Leader boards Every bank employs back-office call center professionals to perform everyday user group • Points humdrum tasks, such as filling applications or assisting users with offline • Badges work. Additions of aspects like leader boards, points and challenges can help • Challenges in boosting employee morale. Every bank has a rewards program or a coupon • Rewards program. Creating a connection with the levels or mastery of users can help in improving motivation.

Figure 1: Potential uses of gamification in financial services

February 2013 | Global Finance | 15

a potential game changer for banks? Consider a scenario in which your customer has two options to fill out an application – use lengthy text-based forms with multiple sections and fields or use highly interactive, narrative touch screens. The customer’s likely choice is obvious.

This is what gamification is all about – transforming otherwise mundane activities into compelling, engaging user experiences.

HOW CAN GAMIFICATION HELP ENHANCE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE?During the early days, the thought of applying game environment principles to business was far away from consideration in any industry, let alone banking. The online banking platform transformation focuses more on functional and transactional capabilities. By adding exciting components to your online banking environment, you stand a far greater chance of engaging your customer and retaining their interest. “Play Banking” is increasingly gaining conceptual interest, with a few banks already moving in this direction.

Case study 1: Spanish bank BBVA inspires customers to participate in their gamification efforts with their BBVA Game portfolio. BBVA Game presents customers with challenges divided into multiple milestones, which they must accomplish to obtain badges, medals and points. The points so earned can be exchanged to redeem prizes or entered into lucky draws. Within two months of the BBVA Game App launch, it attracted 37,000 users who were lured by the rewards on offer.

Case study 2: The Commonwealth Bank of Australia uses a proprietary game called InvestorVille. This online simulator helps players attempt property investing in a virtual environment without actually risking their equity. Players can chose an investor profile and learn about investment strategies, market interest rates, market values and rental returns. The InvestorVille site witnessed 56,600 visitors, 13,660 registrants and 34 home loan applications within the first six weeks of its launch.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES INVOLVED?The initial success stories at some banks are encouraging, with strong reasons for other banks to emulate. Yet, there are significant challenges that require proper consideration.

1. Regulatory compliance. Managing this aspect is the most important challenge. It’s critical to ensure that the planned game strategy does not compromise your bank’s information security.

2. Game design. This is another significant factor that should be carefully planned in advance. Gartner predicts that by 2014, 80% of gamified applications will fail to meet their business objectives primarily because of poor game design. A well-crafted game design that takes into account your business objectives and the game environment is what your bank should target.

3. Costs. Gamification requires constant updates to the aesthetics and theme, which translates into costs. But with a detailed cost-benefit analysis, needs identification and strategic execution, you stand to gain optimal returns on your gamification investments.

THE ROAD AHEADGamification has gained significant attention in the recent past with experts estimating the gamification industry to be worth US$2.8 billion by 2016. With banking customers exposed to multiple banking relationships and with the decline in user experience satisfaction, your bank should look at implementing game dynamics that rewards, engages and excites customers. Gamification is an evolving medium capable of helping your bank draw new customers and build loyalty, ultimately translating into profitability for your institution.

Use case: Take the issue of building (or re-building) customer trust through financial literacy and education. Trying to accom-plish this through a deluge of word documents and spreadsheet calculators does not really help banks. In fact, it usually ends up increasing distrust since customers, more often than not, see these documents as disclaimer statements.

Gamification, on the other hand, has the potential to make the same exercise simple, easy, fun and accessible. Your bank can offer reward points for customers who master educational resources, which can then be redeemed for a discount on bank products. Such initiatives serve the dual purpose of educating the customer and helping your bank position the right product to the right customer.

Figure 2: Gamification system dashboard for financial planning