State of Mobile Finance Apps 2024

Global downloads of financial services apps have climbed from 4.6 billion in 2020 to a projected 7.7 billion in 2024, with India leading the growth at 1.7 billion downloads in 2024, up from 1.5 billion in 2022. Southeast Asia and the U.S. are also showing strong gains, while China and other regions continue steady increases. This upward trend reflects a global shift towards mobile financial solutions, fueled by the convenience of accessible, always-on technology.

Note: Sensor Tower's download data estimates app downloads from the App Store and Google Play. This data excludes pre-installs, re-downloads, and downloads from third-party Android stores  (Google Play is unavailable in Mainland China).

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2024 financial app category trends: rise in cryptocurrency and digital payment adoption

In the first three quarters of 2024, financial services app downloads saw diverse trends. Digital wallets and P2P payments grew by 7.9% to 1.5 billion downloads, while cryptocurrency downloads surged by 133% to 400 million. Downloads of Lending apps declined by 7.7%. Total sessions spent on Digital wallet apps rose 35% to 61.5 billion, while cryptocurrency sessions increased 30% to 1.6 billion, highlighting a growing shift toward digital payments and cryptocurrencies.

In the U.S., cryptocurrency app downloads have nearly doubled, bucking the trend of declines in leading finance app categories

In the United States, Digital wallets and P2P payments lead in downloads, although they saw a 4.7% decline, dropping from 112.7 million to 107.4 million. Apps like Cash App remain popular despite this decrease. Consumer banking apps also experienced a slight decline of 4.3%, indicating market stabilization with widespread mobile banking adoption.

Cryptocurrency apps, however, show a remarkable 95.2% increase, rising from 19.1 million to 37.3 million downloads. This surge underscores growing interest and engagement with digital currencies, with Tonkeeper — TON Wallet showing a significant uptick. Additionally, insurance and financial services apps grew by 8.1% and 11.7%, respectively, indicating a shift toward digital solutions for financial management.

Shifting trends in Japan's financial app market: notable growth in consumer banking and cryptocurrency

In Japan, downloads of Digital wallets and P2P payments experienced a decline of 29.7%, dropping from 61.4 million to 43.2 million, with Rakuten Pay remained the most downloaded app in this category. Conversely, consumer banking apps saw a 10.1% increase, rising from 37.5 million to 41.3 million downloads, indicating growing adoption and convenience offered by mobile banking apps like Vpass.

Investing and financial management apps in Japan showed a modest increase of 4.3%, with downloads moving from 7 million to 7.3 million. Additionally, cryptocurrency apps witnessed a substantial 30.8% increase, reflecting rising interest and adoption of digital currencies, with BitWalk seeing significant growth. These statistics highlight the evolving preferences amongst Japanese users as they gravitate towards diverse financial management solutions.

Diverse financial app trends in Southeast Asia: cryptocurrency leads growth

In Southeast Asia, the diversity of top financial app genres varies significantly across countries, with consumer banking leading in Thailand and Malaysia, while digital wallets & P2P payments dominate in Indonesia; notably, cryptocurrency apps show the most substantial growth, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Across many key markets, digital advertising expenditures and impressions of financial services brands are ascending year-over-year, hitting a new height in 2024

The United States remains the top market for digital advertising spend by financial services brands worldwide. From January to October 2024, spending reached $6.47 billion, marking a 33% year-over-year increase, with total digital ad expenditure in the country expected to approach $7.7 billion by year-end. 

With increased investment, digital ad exposure for financial services brands in the U.S. market has grown consistently. From January to October 2024, ad impressions exceeded 696 billion, reflecting a 35% year-over-year rise. Full-year projections indicate that digital ad impressions in the U.S. will surpass 835 billion by the end of 2024.

Binance has seen strong global growth in downloads and active users, driven by its relaunch in India

Binance led global cryptocurrency app downloads in 2024, fueled by a strong relaunch in India, and ranked among the top 10 in downloads for cryptocurrency apps in both the U.S. and Japan

Binance prioritized cryptocurrency app advertising in key markets, leading Share of Voice (SOV) rankings across multiple platforms. In September 2024, Binance led the Share of Voice (SoV) for cryptocurrency app advertising, ranking highest on AdMob and Facebook in India, as well as on TikTok and Facebook in Japan during August 2024, significantly outpacing its competitors. Throughout 2024 in Japan, Binance has conducted extensive advertising, with Instagram and Facebook contributing to 43% and 26% of total ad impressions, respectively.

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