Indians propel Google Pay, PhonePe as top fintech downloads in Feb 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to lockdowns globally and changed user behaviour unavoidably. With shops, offices and restaurants shuttered down, people are relying on online channels wherever and whenever possible. As banks function with limited staff and capacity, people are turning towards digital services platforms to conduct their financial transactions. With social distancing, people are binge-watching on OTT streaming providers.

One underlining attribute during the past three months is the emergence of the smartphone, which is allowing people to have a semblance of normalcy while under lockdown. Be it communication, business, education, entertainment, shopping or finance, people are increasingly relying on it to meet their needs.

Understandably, this has led to an increased usage of apps globally. The rules for downloading these are more or less universal – they ought to offer ease of use, have strong security standards, preferably have reputed brand value and follow rigid data privacy norms.

When it comes to fintech, Google Pay has apparently ticked all these boxes. According to app download estimates from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform, it was the most downloaded fintech app globally for February 2020 with 15.6 million installs. This was double its number of downloads a year ago. Interestingly, India led this download craze for Google Pay in February 2020 at a whopping 83.6 percent, followed by Russia at 5.7 percent percent.

Sensor Tower noted that digital payments platform, PhonePe, was the second most installed fintech app worldwide in the same month. It registered over 6 million downloads, which is a 39.5 percent increase from February 2019. Once again, India led its download frenzy accounting for 99.3 percent of this figure.

The other three fintechs that saw great traction globally in February 2020 included PayPal, Cash App, and Alipay.

One reason why these brands are gaining an edge over the competition is because users who are relatively less time-pressed now are selective about the apps they download. They check out online reviews, evaluate the brand’s technological pedigree and pace of innovation as well as its digital footprint across their geography before installing it.

Fintech brands that invested significantly in brand awareness before the pandemic are now reaping the rewards of their efforts. Their user acquisition rate is growing significantly. They now have to leverage their tech prowess and market appeal to retain this base, if they want to retain their leadership position in the long race ahead.