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The rising costs of customer acquisition
A possible solution: Offerwalls
3 key benefits of offerwalls for fintech apps
Examples of fintech apps using offerwalls
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Banking is changing fast, and it's getting harder – and more expensive – for fintech apps to stand out. That's why more fintech apps are turning to offerwalls: a monetization model that turns non-paying users into a new revenue stream without disrupting the trust your app depends on.
Here's why offerwalls work so well for fintech, and how apps like MoneyLion and Acorns are already putting them to use.
👀 Related reading: Offerwalls explained: A proven monetization model for mobile apps
Fintech is one of the most competitive app categories on the market. You're not just competing with other fintech apps, but you’re also up against banking and payment giants like PayPal, Google, and Apple. That competition drives up your customer acquisition costs (CAC).
According to First Page Sage, fintech has the highest CAC in the SaaS sector, at $1,450 per customer.
There are two main reasons why.
While most apps only need a download to get going, fintech apps ask users for a lot more before they convert:
And when money is involved, users need to trust you before they'll take that next step, which drives your acquisition costs even higher.
Since trust and a reliable brand image are vital, most fintech apps steer clear of ads, and it's a reasonable choice, since intrusive advertising can drive users away.
So what are the different fintech apps monetization strategies?
Steering clear from ads, most fintech apps rely on interchange fees, transaction fees, subscriptions, or interest and loan products.
Moreover, many users don’t generate meaningful revenue: they may keep a low balance, avoid premium tiers, or only use free transfers.
Offerwall monetization stands out because they let you monetize the users those models miss – the ones who never convert to a paying tier.
👀 Related reading: Scale your profits: The publisher’s guide to mobile app monetization
You've probably heard of rewarded advertising, a type of mobile advertising that rewards users for engaging with it. Watch a video ad, for example, and get an extra try at the game you're playing.
Offerwalls are one type of rewarded advertising, and they rely on opt-in. That means you're not forcing users to interact with an ad – by blocking their navigation, for example – you're giving them the choice to. And they usually choose to, because offerwalls come with generous rewards.
Inside an offerwall, users browse tasks to complete such as reaching a level in a game, downloading another app, or starting a free trial to earn a reward. The rewards are often something practical, such as in-app currency or a gift card.
If a fintech app already has a loyalty or cashback program, adding an offerwall won’t disrupt the user experience. It will only become an additional way for them to earn some extra money.
So far, we've covered what your users get from an offerwall, but what about you as the publisher?
Today, many different types of apps have started integrating offerwalls in their monetization strategy: mobile games, survey apps, and even cloud storage apps! Fintech, too, can make the most out of offerwall monetization and benefit from it for several reasons.
First, offerwalls create a new revenue stream for your app.
If your users are mainly non-paying, this can be a great way to increase your revenue. Each time a user engages with a partner offer, this activity translates into ad revenue or affiliate payouts from the partners. This can bring in a steady flow of ad revenue.
Moreover, offerwalls ads are among the highest-paying ad formats. If we look at eCPMs, we see that offerwalls average at $400. The next highest-paying ad format is rewarded video ads, which have an eCPM of less than $20.
👀 For a closer look at offerwall economics and how to pick a partner, see Inside the offerwall economy: 5 lessons on revenue, demand, and the cost of opacity.
In the fintech industry, loyalty often means becoming the user’s default choice for payments, transfers, or investing.
If your app consistently gives users extra value, for example through cashback, discounts, credits, or offerwall ads and rewards, they’re more likely to:
This builds both trust (“I get something back”) and habit (“I’ll check the app daily for offers”).
👀 Related reading: How gaming offers drive revenue for high-value app verticals
But offerwall aren’t just for monetization: they can be an effective user acquisition channel as well. Offerwalls often feature fintech-specific offers (like "Sign up and get $10 cashback"), and users who discover your app this way tend to be more intentional, engaged, and higher-quality than users acquired through interruptive ads.
Look at Revolut, for example. Revolut turned to Mistplay to expand its campaign in new markets. They leveraged the Mistplay Audience Network, as a UA channel, and the campaign had impressive results:
So, how do offerwalls in fintech work in practice? Let’s take a look.
MoneyLion is a US personal finance app offering banking, lending, investing, and credit-building services, built for users who need help managing their money and improving their credit.
Alongside its core services, MoneyLion has a reward system where users can unlock financial benefits, such as cashback or cash rewards.
Since it has positioned itself as a young, Gen-Z bank (just look at its 4 million-follower TikTok account!), having a Games option just makes sense.
Games lets users earn rewards by playing games directly from the app. It's an offerwall in every sense: users choose a game, progress through it, and earn as they go. That benefits both sides — users earn extra money, and the app sees the retention and revenue lift that comes from longer engagement.
Many fintech apps have already implemented cashback or loyalty programs. Some of them also have an “Offers” section, where users can buy directly from the app and get a discount.
Acorns is an interesting example of this. Acorns is a US-based fintech app focused on micro-investing and saving. From Acorns Earn, users can buy what they need directly from the app, and the app automatically adds a bonus investment after the purchase.
Acorns Earn can also be considered an offerwall, even though it’s more of a marketplace to make purchases than a place to look for tasks to complete.
However, the principle is the same.
A good offerwall has a strong network of partners, made of quality advertisers. Look not only for the quantity of offers, but also for their variety and quality. As a fintech business, you need to make sure that what you are presenting on your app is reliable and trustworthy, so these offers need to be too! Your customers are trusting you with their money, and you don’t want to convey the idea that you can’t be trusted.
And speaking of trust, your offerwall partner needs to be reliable.
Most importantly, it needs to have a good system in place to prevent mobile ad fraud. In general, offerwalls are rarely a target of ad fraud, but still, it’s better to rely on someone who has fraud detection technologies and takes all the necessary precautions.
Third, an offerwall is most successful when it looks like a native element of your app. So choose an offerwall that is easy to integrate and that gives you the possibility to match it to your brand identity. For example, our LoyaltyPlay gaming hub is fully customizable, meaning you can adapt it’s colors, placement, and more to fit into your app ecosystem. white label option, and you can customize its colors, placement and more.
Customer support is vital both for you and for your users.
Technical issues may happen, it’s inevitable! For example, sometimes users complete an offer, but the reward isn’t paid immediately. In these cases, they’ll probably contact the customer support to find out what happened.
Having reliable customer support to turn to makes users feel positive about the host app and the offerwall, and encourages them to continue using them. On your side, you want to make sure that you have a direct point of contact with your offerwall partner, so that they can solve any issue in the shortest possible time.
👀 Related reading: Ultimate checklist for choosing an in-app offerwall partner
The fintech space is moving fast, and rising acquisition costs and intense competition aren't making it easier. Offerwalls give you a way to open new revenue streams, boost retention and loyalty, and add a UA channel that brings in higher-quality users – all without disrupting the trust your app is built on.
At Mistplay, we’ve seen these results first-hand. Our LoyaltyPlay offerwall is designed to integrate seamlessly into all kinds of apps, providing:
If you’re ready to give your users more reasons to choose you over the competition, it’s time to consider adding an offerwall. Learn about LoyaltyPlay for fintech apps and reach out to us today to get started.