May 16, 2020
How consumers react to old as well as new goods and services has changed. It is essential to understand what it is to be a Fintech company in the current situation and how can a FinTech company do things differently to stay in touch with the consumers.
Ala Dawood, the head of marketing from Cashu, discusses how Fintech companies are adapting to the ‘new normal. The company, ‘Cashu’, started in 2020, even before the Fintech term was coined. Cashu is a global brand, and it faces stiff competition from the local players in different countries. Cashu is unique as it serves the entire MENA region. The app has about 3 million active users from North Africa, Egypt, etc. Cashu provides a bouquet of services and is targeting the unbanked. The ‘unbanked’ are the people who do not have any access to banking services.
The people working in the Fintech space consider themselves to be fortunate enough in this industry. A lot of changes have been experienced in user behavior in terms of online behavior. For instance, there has been a decent increase in people consuming online content, etc.
Cashu has seen a growth in the number of app downloads as well as peer-to-peer transfers. The behavior of users is changing. The company has also experienced a surge in adoption and user acquisition.
Cashu also provides shopping cards as a product offering. A lot of people make use of these cards while shopping at a retail store. However, the pandemic has shifted the entire customer base to online platforms. People are now using the virtual prepaid MasterCard offering to make online purchases.
Several interesting categories have popped up during the COVID era. Industries like Entertainment have seen an uptick in the number of users. Gaming is another industry that has boomed during the pandemic. There is a considerable surge in movie streaming and advertisers’ spending on Facebook.
With the onset of COVID-19, many companies have ramped up their share of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Also, a lot of online companies have brought down the costs of several online product offerings. A lot of new users had joined the Cashu platform when the prices were lowered. Retention of consumers also became easy during these trying times as consumers chose to stay with our product because of lower prices.
For Cashu in particular, the donations and a launch of video tutorial stories have worked pretty well. Also, the company decided to address the consumers directly via messaging and other channels. The slashing of prices has also increased peer-to-peer transactions, and the company witnessed about 80% growth during the pandemic. Consumers have also started shifting money between several wallets.
Consumers have now started using several online platforms because of the imposition of lockdowns. However, the churn rate might increase once everything gets back to normal. Therefore, it is crucial to come with campaigns that incentivize your users. Cashu has launched a ‘Ninja program’ where they reward their most active users. Active users are significant assets as they also spread the word around about the app.
Companies are now focussing on loyalty programs. However, the format of these loyalty programs will keep changing from company to company. Cashu is also using gamification to implement unification as a significant chunk of their audience is spending on gaming, which will increase user stickiness.
A loyalty program needs to be successful as it increases the adoption of the product. Being the best in the market is one thing that makes people loyal to your platform. Ease of use and direct communication are essential pillars of any platform. If your customers feel valued, they are more likely to stick to a platform. Quick resolution of issues also creates trust between the users and the platform.
Cashu believes that retaining customers is important. Therefore, there have been no cuts in the marketing budget of the company. Also, their business was not impacted in any major way as they were already operating in the Fin-tech space.
Covid has created havoc everywhere. However, there is life at the end of the tunnel. People have now become more aware of their surroundings. Fintech has evolved as a necessary field, and it has become a learning curve for the users.
Because of the health concerns that cash transactions bring along, Fintech companies like Cashu will continue to prosper. The vision of the company is to build a cashless society. So, this vision will not change.
The pandemic has brought about some negative changes. However, the work-from-home initiative by all companies is bringing in some positivity. Employees are getting to manage work and also spend time with their families. Also, the productivity of the employees has increased to a great extent. People are making the best use of technology. Platforms like Zoom are providing hassle-free services and are also growing at a breakneck pace.
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