As a  millennial fintech founder, I’ve seen firsthand that Gen Z and Millennials are rewriting the rules of banking. Our generation represents about 30% of the global population. Nearly 50% of us manage our finances entirely via phone. We don’t just prefer digital-first experiences – we demand them. We expect our banking app to be as intuitive, personalized, and engaging as TikTok or Instagram.

In this edition, I want to talk about how traditional financial institutions can make banking and managing money a positive experience, social, and rewarding. I know it sounds trivial, but all the data points to FUN as a smart banking strategy for customer engagement and retention.

In short, you’ll learn everything you need to know about gamification and how it applies to your customers: the psychological theories and research that underpin this behavior, some real world examples, and a playbook showing you how to integrate practical and effective gamification features proven to drive engagement and customer satisfaction.

In this issue

ICYMI: Top reads of the week

Deep Dive: Game On: How Gamified Banking Boosts MilZ Engagement, Literacy, and Investment Diversity

Meet the Future of Finance: Why Wellthi?

Poll: How did we do this week?

ICYMI

DEEP DIVE

The Rise of Gamified Banking

By Fonta Gilliam

A transformative strategy gaining momentum in finance apps is gamification: integrating game-like features into non-game contexts (in this case, banking) to make them more engaging. Simply put, it means sprinkling points, badges, challenges, leaderboards and rewards into financial apps. 

On the surface, it might sound gimmicky – after all, nobody checked their bank balance for fun in the past. But done right, gamification taps into powerful human psychology that MilZ responds to in spades.

How does it work without being corny? Completing a task and earning a reward triggers a dopamine rush in the brain – it feels good, so users are motivated to do it again. Even subtle design elements like progress bars, animations and positive affirmations play on our innate loss aversion: if you see you’re 87% toward your savings goal, you’re inclined to finish it (we hate leaving things incomplete). Over time, these techniques can even induce a “flow” state – that feeling of being fully immersed and focused because the activity is enjoyable and just challenging enough. In banking terms, gamification can transform checking an account or learning about loans from a chore into a captivating, goal-oriented experience.

Gamified Banking in Action: Real-World Examples

Vision is one thing; real-world results are another. Fortunately, many innovative financial institutions have rolled out gamified experiences and are seeing remarkable engagement from younger customers. Here are a few examples:

Greenlight is a fintech company on a mission to help the next generation build real financial skills. Designed for kids and teens, their debit card and app are powered by a gamified educational system called “Level Up.” Think Duolingo for financial literacy: users work through bite-sized modules on earning, saving, investing, and even compound interest. Each lesson includes real-time feedback and progress tracking—kids can literally level up their financial knowledge. What makes Greenlight special is how it pulls parents into the loop. Adults set chore-based tasks, spending limits, and savings goals, while kids track their performance and earn rewards along the way. The model is gamified, collaborative, and behavior-driven—giving families a shared framework to talk about money. With over 6 million users and $550 million in venture capital raised, Greenlight isn’t just playing in the kids’ banking space—it’s owning it. One internal study found that kids using “Level Up” scored 94% higher on financial literacy assessments than their peers. And their real-world behavior? They save three times more than the average U.S. teen. Greenlight proves that when financial literacy feels like a game, kids play to win—and parents stick around to see the results.

Current is a New York-based neobank built for a new generation of earners—gig workers, freelancers, and young adults who live outside the 9-to-5 paycheck rhythm. One of their best gamified plays? A rewards system that lets users earn points for using their debit card, redeemable for cash back at over 14,000 nationwide merchants including Subway and Rite Aid. It’s everyday spending, but with a twist. Swipe your card, rack up points, and watch your rewards stack like coins in a game. Users are nudged toward better behavior—paying on time, saving early, budgeting consciously—with each interaction. And it’s working. Since introducing the points system in 2020, Current has scaled to over 4 million users and regularly lands on top fintech lists like CNBC’s World’s Top 250 Fintech Companies. More impressively, Current users engage with their app daily. Internal engagement data shows that 60% of active users log in more than three times a week—far above the typical 1–2 monthly check-ins for traditional checking apps. Gamified engagement leads to daily habits, which lead to better outcomes and stickier relationships. And for banks wondering if rewards programs can work with debit cards? Current says yes—when the incentives are real, and the design makes it fun.

Dave is a challenger bank headquartered in LA, known for helping users avoid overdraft fees and stretch their paychecks further. But Dave isn’t just a financial utility—it’s quietly gamifying financial resilience. One standout feature is its “Side Hustle” tool, which helps users find gig work to supplement income. That means Dave doesn’t just track your money; it helps you make more of it. Gamified elements include streak-based savings challenges, goal trackers for emergency funds, and in-app nudges that reward consistent financial habits. Users can earn “Dave Dollars” (in-app cash equivalents) for completing financial literacy prompts or inviting friends—boosting engagement while reinforcing smart behaviors. The model has traction: Dave has over 10 million users, and in 2022 it went public via SPAC at a $4 billion valuation. The engagement strategy seems to work—Dave users are 35% more likely to maintain a monthly savings streak compared to non-users, and their cash advance repayment rates outpace industry benchmarks. What makes Dave’s gamification feel different is its grounding in empathy: it’s less about bells and whistles, more about empowerment. The game is staying afloat—and Dave gives users the tools to win.

Finotta is an embedded fintech platform that helps regional banks and credit unions inject gamified experiences into their own mobile apps. As a founder-to-founder aside, I find Finotta’s approach compelling because it shows even traditional institutions can rapidly adopt gamification through partnerships. Finotta’s “Personified” platform creates a personalized financial journey for each user – think of it like a fitness tracker, but for your financial health. Users earn points and badges for positive actions (e.g. increasing their savings, reducing debt) and level up through various financial wellness stages. The impact? At one community bank, users went from spending less than 1 minute per month in the banking app to 13.5 minutes per month after Finotta’s gamified features were integrated. That’s a jaw-dropping 13x increase in engagement. Those extra minutes aren’t just play time – customers are using budgeting tools, reading personalized advice, and discovering new products. In essence, gamification gave the bank more opportunities to serve and delight its customers. Higher engagement has translated into deeper customer relationships and greater openness to cross-selling (when a user is actively engaged and feeling positive, they’re far more likely to explore a new credit card or investment option offered in-app). Finotta’s case demonstrates that gamification can drive both user satisfaction and business growth in tandem.

Wellthi (United States): This is my company, born from the idea that people build wealth better, together. Wellthi partners with financial institutions to embed AI-powered banking products and social finance features into their mobile banking apps – (Think:  LinkedIn inside your mobile banking app). With Wellthi, users can form money groups (say a group saving for a vacation or a community investment club), share progress in a social feed, follow influencer content, and even refer friends for rewards. We leverage positive peer pressure and FOMO as forces for good: when your friends cheer you on to hit a savings goal, or you see that three of your peers have invested in an opportunity you’re interested in, you’re more likely to take action yourself. Wellthi also rewards users who contribute to public groups or meet their financial goals with exclusive rewards and experiences. Early pilots have shown that this  communal approach resonates strongly with Gen Z and millennial users, especially in diverse communities that historically felt alienated by big banks. By turning personal finance into a team sport, we not only boost individual engagement but also help people reach goals they might struggle with alone. One user told us that seeing her friends regularly contributing to a shared “home down payment” fund in the app motivated her to save more aggressively than she ever had before – it made the abstract goal real and urgent. For banks, integrating these social features can deepen loyalty (customers invite their friends, organically expanding the user base) and increase deposits as groups work together towards financial milestones. Wellthi clients reported a lead generation rate that was 3x faster and 56% more efficient than the industry standard. In short, Wellthi is proving that social + gamified finance can unlock new levels of participation among young customers who value community in all things.

Leveling Up Customers’ Financial Literacy and Investment Diversity

Beyond boosting raw engagement metrics, gamified banking has a profound side benefit: it educates and empowers young customers in ways traditional approaches haven’t. Many of us face a financial literacy gap – we’re hungry for knowledge but often tune out of dry financial education. Gamification changes that equation. By delivering bite-sized lessons and challenges wrapped in game mechanics, we can impart crucial financial concepts almost by stealth.

Many gamified apps include built-in games and simulations that reward users for learning. For example, a banking app might have a weekly trivia challenge about credit scores or a budgeting mini-game with virtual rewards for making savvy spending choices. It works remarkably well because it turns learning into a playful competition rather than a chore. Studies confirm that this approach improves users’ understanding of topics like budgeting, saving, and investing, while helping them build positive habits. One report noted that when financial education is part of a rewards program, younger customers are far more likely to consume that content and remember it. In practice, that could mean a MilZ user learns the basics of stock vs. bond investing by completing a quest in their banking app, earning a badge (and real or virtual rewards) upon completion. The user gets a sense of achievement and practical knowledge; the bank gets a more informed customer who’s ready to use more of its services. This is a critical point for banks: a more financially literate customer is better equipped to appreciate the value of your products. They’ll understand why investing early matters, or how a credit-building loan works, making them more receptive to adopting those products when you present them. In other words, gamified literacy drives trust and uptake – the customer sees your institution as a helpful partner in their financial journey, not just a place that holds their money.

Crucially, these platforms can also encourage investment diversity – both in terms of who invests and how they invest. Traditionally, a lot of young adults might stick to a basic checking/savings account and maybe dabble in a couple trendy stocks or crypto, often lacking a balanced strategy. We all know how costly and labor intensive it can be to transition checking/saving accountholders to sticky products like insurance, wealth management and financial advisory services. Gamified finance can gently nudge them toward healthier, more diversified financial behaviors. For instance, at Wellthi, we reward users for sharing tips or completing a financial health report and adopting smart financial health behavior like creating an emerging savings goal or contributing to a retirement account, and making an initial investment in a diversified portfolio. By guiding users through these steps with clear goals and feedback, banks help them move beyond one-dimensional financial habits. Some fintech apps already give badges for building a balanced portfolio or for exploring new asset classes, which reduces the intimidation factor of trying something like a bond fund for the first time. Even social investing (we will talk more about this in an upcoming newsletter) and micro-investing challenges (where users invest small amounts to learn how markets work) can plant seeds for broader investment activity down the line. The key is that by making the process enjoyable and breaking it into attainable milestones, we broaden young customers’ horizons. Your customers will start to see banking not just as storage for money, but as a gateway to growth (investments), security (insurance, emergency funds), and community (group financial goals). Banks benefit too: a customer who uses multiple products – say, a savings account, brokerage, and loan – with confidence and knowledge is far more valuable and loyal - and LTV goes up! Gamification can be the bridge that leads a skeptical MilZ customer to finally engage with these additional services. Indeed, offering small rewards for trying a new feature is one of the best ways to get users to venture outside their comfort zone. Once they do, they often realize the value and stick with it.

It’s worth noting that all this needs to be designed responsibly. The goal is not to turn banking into a casino or encourage reckless behavior under the guise of “it’s just a game.” On the contrary, successful gamified banking aligns incentives so that the “fun” comes from doing the right things – saving more, learning more, investing wisely, and so on. By keeping the focus on personal growth and positive outcomes, we ensure that playfulness doesn’t undermine professionalism. In my experience, young customers appreciate this balance; they can tell when they’re being genuinely empowered versus just manipulated to spend more. The trust you build by helping them improve financially is immense.

A Founder-to-Leader Vision: Game On

For banking and credit union leaders, the takeaway is optimistic and clear: gamified digital engagement isn’t a fad – it’s a powerful tool in building the future of finance for younger Americans that bank much differently than older generations. We have an opportunity to transform the way young adults interact with us, turning passive account-holders into active, loyal participants in their own financial success. The case for gamification is not just about making an app “sticky.” It’s about speaking the language of a generation that grew up leveling up in video games, sharing achievements online, and expecting instant feedback. When we bring those elements into banking, we see engagement soar (users spending 10× more time in-app, as noted) , we see knowledge gaps close (through higher uptake of educational content) , and we see customers expanding their relationship with our institutions (using more products because they want to, not because they have to).

From my vantage point as a fintech CEO, I urge my peers in banking: don’t be afraid to play. Pilot a small gamified feature in your app – perhaps a savings challenge with a leaderboard or a poll  that rewards users with fee rebates or cash-back for correct answers. You might be surprised at the enthusiasm it generates. Engage your Gen Z employees or customers in the design; they’ll tell you if it’s actually fun. Use the data (gamification yields rich insights into user preferences and behaviors ) to refine and personalize the experience further. Over time, you’ll cultivate a user community that not only uses your app because they must, but because they love to. That emotional connection is priceless in an era where switching banks is as easy as downloading a new app.

In closing, “game on” isn’t just a slogan – it’s a mindset for innovation in banking. By harnessing game mechanics and social dynamics, we can turn financial growth into an engaging journey that young customers voluntarily embark on. The banks and credit unions that embrace this will not only win the loyalty of Gen Z and Millennials, but will also fulfill a higher mission: empowering a new generation to be financially savvy and secure, with a little enjoyment along the way. That’s a win worth striving for, and it’s why I’m passionate about gamified finance. The game is on – and the future players (and players) are ready. Let’s meet them on the field.

Meet the Future of Finance!

Wellthi Technologies—backed by Mastercard & Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures—offers a turnkey Virtual Advisor Technology app tailored for lowering branch costs, driving low-cost deposits, and maximizing billion dollar opportunities with under 45 consumers. Engage Millennials & Gen Z with social finance features that drive loyalty and deposits. Our platform transforms banking into a community experience with goal sharing, crowdfunding, and peer support—helping credit unions stay relevant, digital-first, and growth-ready. Seamlessly onboard new members, boost engagement, and unlock new revenue streams—all without costly tech investments.

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