Truist Financial Corp. launched a gamified finance app through Long Game that rewards clients for building financial wellness, the company announced Wednesday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank acquired the San Francisco-based startup Long Game in May. The startup's founder, Lisa Holden, and her team became a part of Truist Foundry, a cross-functional unit meant to help the lender shape its clients' finances.
The app is the first product of Truist Foundry — the startup within the bank that focuses on creating digital solutions for clients.
"Truist Long Game changes the way clients save, learn, and engage with their finances. By combining the responsibility of saving with an engaging mobile gaming app, we incentivize users to take control of their financial future in a fun way," Holden, head of Truist Foundry, said in a statement. "The mobile app is an incredible example of how the unique startup approach to our Truist Foundry group effectively combines innovative technology and human touch to enrich clients' financial experience.”
According to a recent Bankrate survey, around 52% of Americans say money impacts their mental health, while 56% of those claim that insufficient emergency savings is the cause of the problem.
Once downloaded, the first thing users will see when they open the Long Game app is the 'daily game' that lets customers earn coins to play other games. They will receive more coins based on their Truist deposit account balance and can earn even more by starting a "savings streak" or depositing at least $20 into their linked account every week. The app also encourages users to earn coins by correctly answering questions on retirement, interest rates, and student loans in up to two daily trivia modules.
The aim is to set goals, save money and answer trivia to earn coins as rewards for progressing toward a savings goal. The coins used to play the games offer chances to win up to $1 million, which is awarded in the form of an annuity that pays out $50,000 per year for 20 years without interest, the company said.
Truist Foundry is not the first startup to develop a gamified app. Commonwealth, a nonprofit focusing on financial stability and opportunity for low-income Americans, piloted a gamified savings program in 2017.
One of the key objectives of Long Game is to boost customer acquisition, primarily among millennials and Gen Z users. When Long Game was acquired, users spent roughly 13 minutes per session and saved an average of around $60 a month, Holden told The Wall Street Journal in May.
Foundry’s essential priorities include focusing on emerging technologies.
“The decisions that banks make over the next two to three years from a technology perspective are going to define who wins over the next decade,” Christina Bechhold Russ, head of strategic initiatives at Truist Ventures, said in October when the bank launched the 45-person innovation team.
