— an Analysis of Payment App Market Trends and Top Apps in the U.S. © 2021 Sensor Tower Inc

Home , Cash App, Google Pay, Klarna, MoneyGram, Sezzle, Tez (software)

The State of Payment Apps: Introduction

This report is an analysis of payment apps available on the App Store and Google Play. It includes download trends along with rankings of top apps from Q1 2018 through Q1 2021.

Payment apps are further broken out into following subcategories: ● Digital Payment: Casual cash transfer apps that enable users to send money to friends and family, as well as pay businesses for mostly zero fees. ● Money Transfer: Apps that focus on international money transfer services, and enable users to send money and remittances with service fees. ● Payment Solution: Apps such as Klarna that offer "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) installment payments after a purchase. © 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

04 - Market Overview: United States 09 - Digital Payment 19 - Money Transfer Apps 26 - Payment Solution Apps 33 - Conclusion Market Overview: United States — An Overview of Payment Apps in the U.S. © 2021 Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved

Payment Apps Reached a Peak of 35 Million Installs in Q2 2020 U.S. quarterly downloads of top digital payment and money transfer apps

App Store Google Play 40M Top digital payment and money transfer apps saw record adoption in Q2 2020, surpassing 35 35M +22% million downloads and soaring 53 percent year-over-year. As the first federal stimulus 30M checks were issued in the U.S. in April 2020, +21% 14M money transfer services also saw high demand. 14M 16M 25M 13M 23% Despite the drop in adoption in Q3 2020, digital 11M 20M 10M 10M payment and money transfer apps saw 9M 9M 9M 9M consistent growth quarter-over-quarter. U.S.

8M payment apps are on the rise, kickstarting 15M 8M 2021 with total installs of 34 million in Q1.

21M 10M 18M 18M 18M 16M 15M 15M 13M 13M 14M 14M 5M 10M 11M

Note Regarding Downloads Estimates: 0 Download estimates are the aggregate downloads of the top 25 digital payment apps in the U.S. from 2018-2020. Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021

The Payment App Space Saw Consistency Among Top App Rankings Top digital payment and money transfer apps by U.S. downloads on the App Store and Google Play

2018 2019 2020 Q1 ‘21

Cash App Cash App - Cash App - Cash App 1 Square 1 Square 1 Square 1 Square -

Venmo Venmo - Venmo - PayPal +1 2 PayPal 2 PayPal 2 PayPal 2 PayPal

PayPal PayPal - PayPal - Google Pay +2 3 PayPal 3 PayPal 3 PayPal 3 Google

Zelle Zelle - Zelle - Venmo -2 4 Early Warning Services 4 Early Warning Services 4 Early Warning Services 4 PayPal

Google Pay Google Pay - Google Pay - Zelle -1 5 Google 5 Google 5 Google 5 Early Warning Services

Western Union Western Union - Western Union - Western Union - 6 Western Union Holdings 6 Western Union Holdings 6 Western Union Holdings 6 Western Union Holdings

JPay JPay - JPay - Remitly +1 7 JPay 7 JPay 7 JPay 7 Remitly

Xoom Xoom - Remitly NEW JPay -1 8 PayPal 8 PayPal 8 Remitly 8 JPay

MoneyGram MoneyGram - Xoom -1 MoneyGram +1 9 MoneyGram 9 MoneyGram 9 PayPal 9 MoneyGram

PayRange PayRange - MoneyGram -1 Xoom -1 10 PayRange 10 PayRange 10 MoneyGram 10 PayPal

Payment Solution Apps Surged During Holiday Shopping U.S. quarterly downloads of top payment solution apps on the App Store and Google Play

App Store Google Play 9M Payment solution apps experienced their best quarter ever in Q4 2020 during the holiday 8M season. Adoption of these apps surpassed 7 million downloads for the first time, climbing 7M at a year-over-year rate of 115 percent.

3.2M 6M Despite their relatively recent arrival—most entered the U.S. market in 2018 and 2019—

5M +118% 2.5M payment solution apps have been growing at an exceptional rate. Led by Klarna, they reached 4M close to 6 million downloads in Q1 2021, soaring 114 percent Y/Y. 3M 1.5M 1.8M

1.2M 982K 4.6M 2M +462% 3.7M 849K

1M 2.1M 460K 1.6M 1.7M 1.9M 1.3M 187K 83K 171K 613K 138K 264K 319K Note Regarding Downloads Estimates: 0 Download estimates are an aggregate of the top 5 payment solution apps in the U.S. from 2018-2020. Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021

Klarna Topped the Payment Solution App Download Charts Top payment solution apps by U.S. downloads on the App Store and Google Play

2019 2020 Q1 ‘21 Swedish app Klarna quickly gained popularity in the United States after its first appearance on the U.S. app stores in Q4 2018, and has been the

Klarna Klarna - Klarna - No.1 ranked payment solution app in the U.S. 1 Klarna Bank 1 Klarna Bank 1 Klarna Bank since 2019. Payment solutions apps surpassed 1 million downloads in the U.S. for the first Afirm Aferpay Aferpay time during the 2019 holiday shopping season, 2 2 +1 - Afirm Aferpay 2 Aferpay when the top six apps gained 1.2 and 1.5 million downloads in November and December 2019, respectively. Aferpay Afirm -1 Afirm 3 Aferpay 3 Afirm 3 Afirm - Amid increased financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the payment solution Quadpay Quadpay - Quadpay 4 QuadPay 4 QuadPay 4 QuadPay - space has been on a rise as the “buy now, pay later” concept provided a potentially interest- free alternative to credit card payments. Perpay Sezzle Sezzle NEW - Payment solution app downloads soared 110 5 Perpay 5 Sezzle 5 Sezzle percent year-over-year in December 2020.

Google Pay Downloads Surpassed Cash App in December Monthly U.S. downloads of top digital payment apps

Digital payment apps saw a significant boost in Cash App Google Pay PayPal Venmo Zelle adoption at the beginning of the pandemic. 4M Although growth slowed down mid-year, COVID-19 Outbreak downloads remained above their pre-pandemic level. Cash App continues to lead the space in Q1 2021, surpassing 3 million downloads in January 3M Cash App 2021 and gaining 8.7 million in the first quarter.

Google Pay adoption skyrocketed in December Google Pay 2020 and surpassed 3 million downloads after 2M PayPal the relaunch of the app. Users from the old Venmo version flocked to the new app along with new users. In addition, Google made an advertising push on top ad networks to promote the new Zelle 1M version, launching a $21 referral rewards promotion the same month.

Jan-19 Mar-19 May-19 Jul-19 Sep-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21

Cash App Gained the Most New Downloads in Q1 2021 Proportion of U.S. installs among top digital payment apps

Cash App PayPal Google Pay Venmo Zelle Cash App accounted for 30 percent of the market share among top digital payment apps in Q1 2021. Although this share size decreased year- 35% 24% 6% 24% 10% 2018 over-year, Cash App still remained the No. 1 digital payment app by downloads.

Google Pay downloads surged past Venmo’s in

33% 22% 5% 27% 13% Q1 2021. Google Pay’s market share climbed to 19 2019 percent in Q1 2021, up from 8 percent in 2020.

35% 23% 8% 23% 11% 2020

30% 22% 19% 18% 11%

Q1 2021

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Cash App Ranked No. 1 Among All Mobile Finance Apps Rankings by U.S. download of top finance apps

Cash App Venmo Robinhood Zelle Credit Karma Chase Mobile Google Pay -1 Cash App Cash App ranked as the most downloaded Google Pay finance app in the U.S. in 2019 and 2020. The app

Venmo was surpassed by Robinhood in December 2020 -6 and January 2021, during the upticks in stock Zelle Credit Karma trading and cryptocurrency prices. Robinhood -11 Google Pay ranked second by downloads in

Chase Mobile March 2021. The app’s ranking climbed rapidly in November and December 2020 and it has -16 remained among the top 10 finance apps since then. Its best monthly ranking between January 2019 and November 2020 was No. 14. -21

-26

-31

Jan-19 Mar-19 May-19 Jul-19 Sep-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21

Digital Payment App Adoption Grew 61% During COVID-19 Year-over-year growth of top digital payment apps in 2020

2019 2020 YoY Growth COVID-19 Surge 14M Top digital payment apps soared 61 percent year- COVID-19 over-year in April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The top five digital payment 12M +56% Google Pay apps surpassed 10 million downloads in May download surge 2020, suggesting that COVID-19 altered +61% +57% 10M +51% consumer behavior and increased demand for 4.2M +30% +24% safer payment methods. +26% +25% +21% 3.7M +25% 8M 3.8M 3.3M 2.1M 1.8M 1.8M +18% 1.5M Digital payment apps surpassed the COVID-19- +20% 1.7M 1.6M 1.2M driven record adoption from May 2020 with 1.2M 6M nearly 12 million downloads in December 2020. Most of this growth was driven by Google Pay.

4M 7.3M 7.6M 7M 6.9M 6.8M 6.3M 6.6M 6.4M 6.4M 6.5M 5.9M 6.1M

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Google Pay Downloads Soared 347% in Q1 2021 Quarterly downloads of top digital payment apps

Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Q1 20201 10M Digital payment apps continue to see promising growth year-over-year, with Cash App’s Q1 2021 +9% adoption surpassing the year-ago quarter by 9 +24% percent. PayPal adoption climbed 21 percent Y/Y, while another PayPal-owned app, Venmo, saw 7.5M downloads decline slightly.

+21% Google Pay was the clear standout by U.S. +347% +17% +24% -7% download growth in Q1 2021. It transitioned 5M users to a different version of the app in late 2020,

8.7M explaining a large portion of this growth. 8.0M

+18% 6.4M 6.3M 5.6M 5.7M +19% 5.2M 5.3M 2.5M 4.8M 4.1M

+14% 3.1M 2.6M 2.2M

1.1M 1.3M 0

Cash App PayPal Google Pay Venmo Zelle

Case Study: Google Pay Switched Apps—and Users Followed Google Pay U.S. downloads by store

App Store Google Play Google Pay transitioned U.S. users to a new and 8M 20M Through Nov 17, 2020 Rest of Nov 2020 Through Nov 17, 2020 Rest of Nov 2020 different version of its app starting in November Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Feb 2021 Mar 2021 Feb 2021 Mar 2021 2020, and seems to have converted a large 7M number of users—or managed to boost adoption —following the switch. It achieved 35 percent of 6M 15M the previous version’s all-time downloads for the new version by the end of Q1 2021 on the App Store, and nearly 50 percent of all-time installs on 5M 35% 47% of all-time downloads of all-time downloads Google Play.

4M 10M The app was faster to transition App Store users All-Time Total: 6.7M All-Time Total: than Google Play users early on, with 1.3 million Total: 7.2M 3M 15.2M new App Store downloads in December 2020 Total: 2.4M 2.0M alone. However, adoption on Google Play 251K 2M 312K 5M remained high into 2021 and the new app has 1.3M 364K accounted for a higher percentage of the old 1.2M version’s installs on that platform. 1M 1.3M 2.1M Note Regarding Google Play Estimates: 123K 583K Google Pay download estimates on the Google Play store only 0 0 include first-time downloads. This does not represent preinstalls of the app on Android phones. Old Version New Version Old Version New Version

Google Pay Owned 15% of Finance Share of Voice on YouTube Google Pay’s share of voice among top finance app advertisers by network on iOS

Google Pay took advantage of its re-brand and YouTube Unity Admob MoPub Apple Search Ads transition to a new app in the U.S. with a big 20% advertising push on top networks in Q4 2020. Google Pay saw highest share of voice among finance apps on YouTube, accounting for 15 percent of finance app advertiser impressions 15% there in Q4 2020.

Despite a drop in share of voice on other networks, Google Pay continues to see increased 10% impressions on Apple Search Ads, suggesting that Google may have shifted its advertising focus there in 2021.

Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021

Google Pay Boosted Adoption with Creative Strategies Top keywords by download of Google Pay on iPhone and creative trends in 2020

2 Money Splitting and Budgeting 1 Bill Pay Reminder and Virtual Wallet Google Pay In addition to payment and money transfer, Google “Bill pay reminder organizer” and “virtual wallet” Keyword Trafic Score Pay also includes other functions such as money appeared as the top keywords by downloads for Google 1 google pay 6.1 splitting and spending analytics. Both are Pay. Google highlighted the terms in its creatives, promoted in its ads. successfully promoting the key features. 2 samsung pay 3.5

3 bhim upi 2.7

4 tez 1.5

5 bill pay reminder organizer 2.0

6 g pay 2.8 3 Cash Back

7 googlepay 3.1 Google Pay saw success after its cashback and referral promotions in December 2020. Google 8 gpay 4.1 attempted to carry the success over to 2021 by further promoting cashback offers. 9 virtual wallet 3.2

10 phone app 4.0

0 100K 200K Keyword downloads in 2020

Payment Apps are Moving Towards Crypto Payment apps moving into the crypto payment space, timeline and download growth

Top digital payment apps started to add Y/Y Download Y/Y Download Finance Crypto Trading Growth in First Crypto Payment Growth in First cryptocurrency trading and payment features in App Subcategory Launch Date Week afer Launch Date Week afer 2021, signaling cryptocurrency’s entrance as Feature Launch Feature Launch mainstream feature. PayPal launched its cryptocurrency payment feature in March 2021, after the first introduction of cryptocurrency Cash App Payment Jan. 2018 129% Jan. 2018 129% trading in October 2020.

Cash App was one of the first to allow cryptocurrency trading and payment in the app, Venmo Payment Apr. 2021 -29% - - launching these features in 2018.

Paypal Payment Oct. 2020 42% Mar. 2021 -4%

Western Union Money Transfer - - *Apr. 2019 -2%

Launched after the COVID-19 outbreak Cash App creative on AdMob and MoPub *Partnership with a third-party cryptocurrency payment service overseas

Money Transfer App Adoption Was Boosted by COVID-19 Monthly U.S. downloads of top money transfer apps

Western Union gained nearly 500K downloads in Western Union JPay Remitly MoneyGram Xoom WorldRemit April 2020, an increase of 49 percent year-year- 500K year. Enabling consumers to send money to more COVID-19 than 200 countries, the app saw a surge in demand during the global pandemic as a way for 400K users to offer financial support to family and Western Union friends overseas.

300K Remitly maintained high adoption throughout the year, soaring 33 percent Y/Y and gaining almost 400K U.S. downloads in Q1 2021. The U.S. and Canada were responsible for more than half 200K JPay of the growth for Remitly. Remitly MoneyGram Xoom

100K

WorldRemit

Jan-19 Mar-19 May-19 Jul-19 Sep-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21

Western Union Accounts for 33% of Downloads in the Space Proportion of U.S. installs among top money transfer apps

Western Union Remitly JPay MoneyGram Xoom WorldRemit Western Union accounted for 33 percent of downloads among top money transfer apps in Q1 2021. Despite the decrease in market share 43% 5% 22% 12% 15% 4% 2018 over time, Western Union continues to be the top money transfer app in the U.S.

As one of a few apps designed for money transfers

41% 8% 20% 13% 13% 6% with incarcerated individuals, JPay was the No. 3 2019 money transfer app by market share in Q1 2021. The majority of its adoption growth came from App Store users, accounting for 60 percent of its downloads in 2020.

35% 15% 17% 12% 14% 7% 2020

33% 17% 15% 14% 14% 6%

Q1 2021

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Money Transfer Apps Saw Higher Growth During COVID-19 Monthly U.S. download growth of money transfer and payment apps compared to Jan. 2019

Money Transfer Digital Payment 100% Although operating at a lower adoption level on COVID-19 +85% average, money transfer apps showed higher (Compared to growth during the pandemic when the 80% January 2019) subcategory’s downloads skyrocketed 85 percent above early 2019 levels in April 2020, surpassing the 60 percent growth seen by digital Digital Payment 60% payment apps.

Money Transfer Money transfer app adoption remained above 40% pre-pandemic levels throughout 2020, despite a drop from its peak in April. By January 2021, money transfer app installs were up 44 percent 20% compared the the same month two years prior.

-0%

-20%

Jan-19 Mar-19 May-19 Jul-19 Sep-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21

Remitly Adoption Surged by 89% During COVID-19 U.S. growth of money transfer apps for 60 days after the start of COVID-19 vs. 60 days prior

60 Days Before the Outbreak 60 Days Afer the Outbreak Remitly saw the largest download surge during 676K the first 60 days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 935K +38% Western Union soaring 89 percent compared to the prior period. Owned by PayPal, Xoom was another beneficiary 355K of this COVID-19-fueled adoption surge, with the 434K +22% app seeing a 58 percent increase in installs JPay following the outbreak.

214K 406K +89% Western Union also benefitted from the increase Remitly in demand for money transfer apps. It gained

242K nearly 1 million U.S. downloads in the first two 383K +58% months of the pandemic. Xoom

216K 291K +35% MoneyGram

128K 185K +44% WorldRemit

0 250K 500K 750K 1M

WorldRemit Found Success Bidding on Competitor Keywords Search ad share of voice of “western union” in 2020 and weekly downloads of WorldRemit

WorldRemit found success in search ad keyword bidding, with its weekly downloads mirroring its share of voice trends on the keyword “western union”, accounting for an average SOV of 50 percent in 2020. The keyword had a total of 90 WorldRemit bidders during the year.

WorldRemit’s top search ad keywords by SOV in 2020 included “tigo money”, “payoneer”, and “wave money”. It’s clear that WorldRemit has Weekly Downloads of WorldRemit found consistent success bidding on keywords 30K related to its competitors.

25K

20K

15K

10K

1/1/20 4/1/20 7/1/20 9/30/20 12/30/20

Western Union Bidding on Money Transfer Terms Search ad share of voice of “exchange rate” and “currency converter” in 2020

1 U.S. Share of Voice for “Exchange Rate” in 2020 (35 bidders, Western Union SOV: 71%)

One of the contributors to Western Union’s Western Union success was active keyword bidding, as the app bid heavily on general terms focusing on currency and money transfer in 2020.

Top search ad keywords included “exchange rate” and “currency converter”, where Western Union had more than 60 percent share of voice in 2020. Other top bidders for the two terms included Ria Money Transfer and Remitly. 2 U.S. Share of Voice for “Currency Converter” in 2020 (76 bidders, Western Union SOV: 62%)

Western Union

Klarna Surpassed 1 Million Installs During the 2020 Holidays Monthly U.S. downloads for top payment solution apps

Klarna continues to lead the emerging space of Aferpay Klarna Afirm Quadpay Sezzle Perpay payment solution apps and saw a record 1.2M download total of 1.1 million in November 2020. COVID-19

1M Despite a slower month for most shopping apps, Afterpay adoption surged in March 2021 with 225 percent year-over-year growth. The increase in 800K adoption may largely be due to the Afterpay Day Aferpay Deals promotion launched on March 18, 2021. Klarna

600K

400K Afirm Quadpay

200K

Sezzle

Perpay 0

Jan-19 Mar-19 May-19 Jul-19 Sep-19 Nov-19 Jan-20 Mar-20 May-20 Jul-20 Sep-20 Nov-20 Jan-21 Mar-21

Klarna Has Gained Market Share Over Time Proportion of U.S. installs among top payment solution apps

Klarna Aferpay Afirm QuadPay Sezzle Perpay Klarna accounted for 37 percent of the downloads for top payment solution apps in Q1 2021 and continued to be the market leader in 2% 17% 78% 3% 2018 the rapidly expanding space. Klarna quickly surpassed its competitors after its emergence on the U.S. app stores in 2018.

33% 22% 26% 11% 4% 4% Afterpay was also responsible for a large portion 2019 of payment solution app downloads, gaining 28 percent of the market in Q1 2021. Afterpay was 2% launched in Australia initially and entered the U.S. market during 2018.

38% 25% 16% 15% 5% 2020

34% 26% 16% 16% 6% 2021

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Payment Solution Rankings Climbed Alongside Retailers U.S. Shopping category download rankings for payment solution apps and top mobile retailers

Shein Walmart Klarna Aferpay Afirm Adidas Macy's -1 Shein (Aferpay) Klarna ranked No. 10 by downloads among Walmart (Afirm) Shopping category apps in November 2020 -11 during the peak of holiday shopping, reaching Klarna the highest position the app has held since -21 Aferpay launch. One of its partnered retailers, Macy’s, also

-31 climbed up the rankings during the same period. Afirm

-41 Among the partnered retailers with Afterpay, Shein saw the highest downloads and has Macy’s (Klarna) -51 Adidas (All) consistently ranked among the top 10 shopping apps in the U.S. Walmart, partnering with Affirm, -61 ranked No. 1 among Shopping category apps in November 2020. -71

-81

-91 Holiday Holiday Shopping Shopping -101

Jun-19 Aug-19 Oct-19 Dec-19 Feb-20 Apr-20 Jun-20 Aug-20 Oct-20 Dec-20 Feb-21

Payment Solution App Growth Peaked Pre-Pandemic U.S. monthly downloads of payment solution apps and year-over-year growth

Downloads Y/Y Growth 4M 800% Top overseas payment solution apps such as Klarna and Afterpay emerged in the U.S. market during 2018 and quickly picked up in download growth during 2019. As the payment solution app

3M 600% space continues to grow globally, U.S. downloads saw exceptionally high year-over- year growth rates in Q1 2020 when downloads soared more than 500 percent compared to January and February 2019. 2M 400% Y/Y Growth Y/Y Downloads Payment solution app adoption quickly climbed to its record install peaks in November and December 2020, soaring 130 and 110 percent year-over-year, respectively. 1M 200%

0 0%

Jan-20 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-21 Mar-21

Klarna Led Competitors in Screenshot-Focused ASO Number of app updates by type of payment solution apps in 2020

Version Screenshots Description Subtitle

22 Klarna’s focus on App Store Optimization (ASO)

14 Dec 2020 was reflected through active screenshot 7 Klarna updates, pushing out a total of 14 such updates 1 on the App Store in 2020. The app’s update in 0 5 10 15 20 25 December 2020 amid holiday shopping put an emphasis on perks such as “shop at any store” 16 and “get rewards for shopping”. 6

2 Afirm 1 Affirm released six screenshot updates in 2020, 0 5 10 15 20 25 in which “0% APR” and “at any store” were heavily highlighted in the campaigns. It also had 8 the second most version updates behind Klarna. July 2020 3 Aferpay 2 1

0 5 10 15 20 25

8 6 Quadpay 4 1

0 5 10 15 20 25

Klarna Shifted Advertising Strategies During an Eventful Year Klarna creative trends in 2020

1 Pre-Pandemic 2 During the Pandemic 3 Holiday Season

Klarna’s advertisements before the pandemic Klarna revamped its marketing strategy at the Klarna upped its previous campaigns by focused mostly on images with large text and beginning of the pandemic and started shifting toward video creatives and saw a strong brand identity to raise awareness displaying expensive products, such as game higher SOV on the YouTube network. Again and present a call to action, targeting mostly consoles, with large call-to-action text placing emphasis on video game consoles, female consumers. The app saw most of its including “Play Now, Pay Late”. It also began these ads demonstrated how the app works. impressions on networks such as Facebook, including its popular retailer partners in Klarna also began using influencers in its ads MoPub, and AdMob. campaigns, suggesting that consumers can to target a younger audience. use the app for their favorite stores.

Facebook Facebook Facebook AdMob Facebook AdMob

Conclusion: Overall

1. The top U.S. digital payment and money transfer apps gained 34 million downloads in Q1 2021, soaring 22 percent year-over-year.

● Payment and money transfer apps saw their highest quarterly downloads in Q2 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic and the issuing of the first federal stimulus check in the U.S.

● Due to the financial stress imposed by COVID-19, money transfer apps saw strong demand during pandemic as consumers had increased need for financial support from family and friends.

● Payment solution apps gained more than 7 million downloads in Q4 2021, boosted by the holiday season. As an emerging competitor to credit and debit cards, they continued to grow at an exceptional rate, suggesting consumers are finding convenience with this new breed of payment option.

Conclusion: Digital Payments

2. The digital payment space is still led by Cash App, while Google Pay adoption took off in 4Q20 during the transitioning of its users to a new version launched in November, followed by a series of advertising pushes and promotions.

● Google Pay surpassed 3 million downloads in December 2020, representing 263 percent growth month-over-month.

● Google Pay advertising accounted for 15 percent of Finance category app impressions on YouTube during its ad push in Q4 2020. Google successfully promoted key features in its creatives, such as “bill pay reminder organizer” and “virtual wallet”, that were the top keywords by downloads on App Store for Google Pay.

● Top digital payment apps are shifting towards crypto payment, signalizing the alternative payment method is entering the mainstream. Cash App was one of the first cash payment apps to adopt cryptocurrency trading and payment in 2018.

Conclusion: Money Transfer and Payment Solutions

3. Western Union led the international money transfer app space in 2020, while Klarna saw highest adoption among payment solution apps.

● Along with other money transfer apps, Western Union experienced its best month in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic as the subcategory’s installs soared 85 percent compared to January 2019.

● Western Union strategized its ASO effort on search ads, bidding heavily on terms such as “currency converter” and “exchange rate”.

● Klarna saw record downloads in November 2020 as the app surpassed 1.1 million installs for the month. In the same period, Klarna shifted toward video creatives during holiday shopping and started using social media influencers to target a younger audience.

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