This month, and for this cup of our hot black coffee, we have chosen to take a closer look to the challenger banks in the USA.
Interesting fact is that the US has successfully entered the Market of Challengers with so many fine examples of banks that operate entirely online, with no physical branches to be found. For this Fintech Bite we have chosen the following banks: Chime, Current, MoneyLion, Simple, SoFi, Stash and Varo.
Of course, it goes without saying that all data is taken straight from our digital banking research platform,
For this analysis we have chosen to include the Android app, iOS app and Web channel.
With a quick glimpse at the above graph, it is rather obvious that SoFi is a leader in the digital banking market that we have created, so we will focus on them, along with Chime, Simple and Stash.
SoFi’s award as a Best Wealth Management Solution in the recent FinovateFall was not a surprise to us. A rather obvious functionality offering leader, having more than double than Stash, our second in focus. SoFi offers both the most commonly found accounts (checking and savings) and a very complete and unique investments’ account. The interesting part is that SoFi not only offers the most functionalities in all channels combined, but also offers the most in each channel respectively. Way to go SoFi!
A challenger bank that offered from day one all of their accounts - absolutely free of charge. Heavily advertised as the bank account of the Millennials, Chime is a well known digital bank in the US. The functionalities offered are balanced across all channels, having 67 functionalities in Web and on average 85 functionalities in mobile devices, which unfortunately brings Chime below the average score of the US Challenger Banks on all 3 examined channels.
Part of the BBVA Group, Simple boasts about its simplicity, hence its name. Simple offers both checking and savings accounts, along with a very good and effective goal savings and budgetary system, helping users save money and keep their expenses and bills on track. Simple stands right on the average curve for its Web channel with 85 functionalities, but rests below the market average for the mobile apps with 86 functionalities for both iOS and Android.
Another awarded at the recent FinovateFall as Best Digital Bank, this youngster (5 years since its founding) has managed to take the second place in our functionality ranking. Offering a unique investments account, where ETFs or stock shares can be bought and sold, Stash bears some very interesting functionalities, such as cashback on stock shares or custodial investment account. Functionality wise, their Web channel positions just above the market average with 88 functionalities and mobile app channels fell short a few functionalities compared to market average with 92 and 90 functionalities for iOS and Android respectively.
If you're already down your first cup, and while you are making your second for the day, don’t forget to book
It only takes as long as making an espresso shot to do it and it will set your path towards innovational heights.
Read more Fintech Bites:
Ranking of Functionalities of UK High Street Banks
5 Key Functionalities in Junior Accounts
"Split the bill" functionality in the US market