Fintech firms are competitively expanding participatory content such as games and mini-apps. Observers say they are moving beyond utility apps for financial transactions and evolving into “stay-on” platforms that capture users’ everyday time.

As of March 29, major fintech firms such as Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss are moving to expand content inside their apps, the financial sector said.

Kakao Pay put game content front and centre. Last month it launched a “mini-game” service that can be run immediately without separate installation, in collaboration with global game publisher Two Byte. It is designed so users can play 9 games, including puzzle, tycoon and defence titles, directly inside the app. Users can start games immediately without a separate sign-up process, either in the Kakao Pay app or on the Kakao Pay home within KakaoTalk.

Kakao Pay said its own survey found about 70 percent of respondents feel burdened by installing a new app to play a game. Reflecting this “digital minimalism” trend, Kakao Pay designed a structure that allows users to consume content without an installation process. It also strengthened links with financial services by awarding points for completing missions such as check-ins, play and sharing. The structure is designed to let users experience financial benefits naturally while playing games.

On Naver Pay, the company is encouraging user participation through “Pay Pet Raising,” a service that combines game elements with payment activity. The character grows and rewards are provided as users carry out various activities such as payments, earning points and writing reviews. It is seen as a strategy to draw repeat visits through a gamification structure that encourages repetitive behaviour. It is an example of expanding the user experience by designing financial activity itself like a game.

Toss is building an ecosystem involving external developers through its mini-app platform “App in Toss.” The platform surpassed 1,000 partner mini-apps 7 months after launch, and an average of 4.8 new services have been added per day, it said. Cumulative users have topped 51 million.

In particular, games have led its early growth. The instant-play structure without separate installation spread quickly by offering high accessibility to both developers and users. Some developers are posting results such as monthly sales of 210 million won through mini-apps. Content areas are now expanding beyond games to daily life, health and artificial intelligence, and the share of non-game services has risen to more than 60 percent.

Toss aims for a “participatory ecosystem” beyond simply providing content. It supports external partners so they can easily develop and operate services, and through that it is rapidly expanding service diversity within the app and building a structure that offers users various experiences in a single app.

The changes show that competition among financial apps is shifting from “function” to “experience.” In the past, interest rates, fees and convenience were key competitive factors. Now, how long users stay and how often they visit are emerging as core indicators. Games and content are the most intuitive means of increasing time spent.

The industry expects this trend to accelerate further. Financial services are being combined with everyday life, gradually blurring boundaries between platforms.

A financial industry official said, “There are limits to expanding user touchpoints with only basic finance-centred functions.” The official added, “It seems they judged that they need to create a structure used naturally in daily life by combining it with content to have core competitiveness.”