5 Ways to Use QR Codes to Promote Finance Apps to Increase Installs, Engagement and Transactions

Published on May 18, 2022

The 5 Ways to Use QR Codes to Promote Finance Apps to Increase Installs, Engagement and Transactions finance segment is a natural fit for QR codes. As consumers get more accustomed to using their mobile devices to do everything from shopping to booking travel to buying crytpto currency, QR codes are playing a key role in all types of transactions. eMarketer predicts that by 2025, 99.5 million mobile users will be scanning QR codes or about a third of the U.S. population.

Financial firms with mobile apps have an opportunity to leverage this trend even further by implementing enterprise grade QR experiences designed to increase engagement and transactions while giving marketing teams control over the QR code's destination, design attributes and lifecycle. This article outlines five ways that QR codes can be used for financial apps to increase installs, engagement and transactions.

1. QR Codes to Access Balances and Financial Statements

Some of the most common tasks consumers perform with financial apps is to check balances, transaction lists and monthly statements. QR codes are a great way to access all three. Marketers can think creatively about where to place such QR codes including emailed or printed monthly statements.

Apart from new monthly statements, mobile apps offer consumers an easier way to access statement history at any moment when needed for important transactions. Consider when consumers need access to their statements and use QR codes to remind customers that their statements are easily accessable in the app. These include:

Income tax season
Customers seeking pre-approval for a home mortgage
Prospective car buyers considering a car loan or lease

Re-inforcing financial statement access with QR codes will serve as a great way to get your users back into the app and increase engagement and conversion for your other products and services.

2. For Instant Payments and Transactions

Whether buying coffee at Starbucks, paying for a taxi, or wiring money, QR codes are becoming the norm in today's cashless society. Financial apps are leveraging this trend further by making QR codes a key part of their transaction strategy.

Perhaps the most popular payment apps are Apple Pay and Google Pay but other financial apps are taking advantage of the trend which has been fueled by the pandemic and the need for more payment options that accomodate social distancing. PayPal for example introduced a QR code feature for helping small businesses go cashless and their QR codes are being introduced at merchants worldwide. Consumers can use their PayPal wallet for transactions while vendors display their unique QR code for customers to scan.

Increased fintech innovation will allow any app to implmenent QR payment features. Cloud-based QR platforms like URLgenius can help finance and investment apps develop QR transaction strategies at scale while offering enterprise service level agreements that adhere to the latest security standards.

3. QR Codes On Credit and Debit Cards

QR codes are also making news as they appear on credit cards. Venmo for example, introduced the company's first credit card in 2020 with a QR code featured prominently as part of the card's branding. The QR code is aligned with company's strategy to encourage users to split checks and purchases with other users. When at a restaurant for example, one person leads the transaction and everyone else scans that person's card to split the check.

Venmo demonstrates that QR codes on credit cards can be used for complicated transactions as well as for something simple like opening the app to the home screen while falling back to the right app store if the app is not installed. If your code is designed to lead to marketing promotions available in the app, ask your QR solution provider if your team can control the destination of the code. This flexibility allows you to think creatively to design innovative programs that inspire customers to keep scanning. One month you can set your QR code to open a loan application, the following month a credit report and the next a new feature in the app. The opportunities are limitless!

4. QR Codes for Loan Applications and other Services

Loan applications are a great example of a process that is being simplified by mobile apps. QR codes can be used to open loan applications from different marketing channels such as direct mail, online ads, posters and bank offices.

In 5 Ways to Use QR Codes to Promote Finance Apps to Increase Installs, Engagement and Transactions addition to simply opening the loan application, the QR code is being used to put customers into the marketing funnel as they fill out forms, submit documents and keep up to date on the status of their application. They can also be used to increase awarness and engagement with other financial products and services inlcuding certificates of deposit, opening a new account or applying for a new credit card.

Any information or screen in your app related to the financial products that your marketing team is promoting can be opened with a QR code. Include QR codes in your integrated marketing strategy for all your products and services.

Should your plans change, an enterprise grade QR platform will let you control the destination of the code allowing your marketing team to change it even after it's printed. That includes opening your app to different screen than originally planned while falling back to the right app store when the app is not installed.

This will lead to higher campaign conversion and increased ROI on the financial product.

5. At ATMs, Bank Tellers, and Retail Checkouts

It may seem obvious but placing QR codes at banks, lobbies and retail checkouts are a great way to engage consumers. What's different now is that customers are opening apps for a moment while they're waiting. Think of places where your constomers and prospects are likely to engage and on what topics and screens in your app and align that knowledge with your QR code strategy.

A great source of ideas on where to place QR codes and what screens in your app your QR code should link to is your search marketing campaign. What are your customers searching for in relation to your app. By integrating QR codes effectively throughout the consumer journey, you'll not only increase app installs and app re-engagement, you may even cut down on your search marketing costs.

The finance app and QR code revolution is just getting started! Your enterprise QR code solution provider can guide you every step of the way. At URLgenius we can not only help you develop innovative use cases, we help you make sure the size, density and placement of your QR is perfect every time to maximize scanning. Get started now and include a QR code in your next campaign.

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