AppsFlyer Reveals Global Finance Apps Dominating Europe’s Investment and Money Transfer Markets
Report highlights diverse strategies across finance app categories, revealing opportunities to combine strengths for greater growth
San Francisco, September 30, 2025 , 2025 – AppsFlyer today released a new analysis of the finance app market across the UK, Germany, and France, revealing that international providers now dominate investment and money transfer apps. These are the only sub-verticals where local European companies no longer lead. The report also shows that while banks, neobanks, and global platforms each excel in different areas of acquisition and retention, none have yet achieved a balance between the two.
More than 85% of installs in investment apps come from international providers, money transfer apps are the fastest growing segment with up to 40% of conversions from retargeting, and neobanks are attracting twice as many new users as traditional banks in France. While each category has found its advantage, the data points to significant opportunities if finance apps adopt strategies proven in other segments.
“Finance apps in Europe are being shaped by very different playbooks,” said Aliaksei Ustauski, Director of Sales Strategy at AppsFlyer. “Traditional banks lead in retention, neobanks in digital-first acquisition, and international investment and money transfer apps in scale. But our data shows that across all segments, there are clear opportunities to learn from each other, especially around media diversification, retargeting, and long-term user value.”
Traditional banks remain unmatched in retention:
- Retargeting drives as much as 85% of their conversions, giving them 1.5–2x higher day-30 retention than neobanks.
- Much of this success comes from cross-selling to existing customers and converting web or branch users into app users, with 45% of installs generated by owned media.
- Growth, however, has flatlined: there is no recorded increase in new users, leaving banks heavily dependent on their existing base.
Neobanks have surged ahead in user acquisition:
- They have overtaken banks in both the UK and France, with France showing a 2-to-1 preference for neobanks and digital wallets in 2025.
- Their diversified media mix combines 35% owned media, TikTok (capturing younger demographics), SANs, ad networks, and DSPs.
- Yet retention lags: only 3–4% of conversions come from retargeting, leaving long-term value untapped.
Investment apps are dominated by international providers, with more than 85% of non-organic installs in the UK, Germany, and France coming from companies outside Western Europe. Key points include:
- Heavily paid-driven: Over 75% of installs are non-organic, with the remainder organic.
- Volatile growth: Acquisition rises and falls with crypto and market sentiment.
- Weak retention: Only 19% of users remain on Day 1, dropping to 4% by Day 30.
- Media mix: More than 80% of installs come from smaller agencies and ad networks, while only 15–20% come from SANs or owned media.
Money transfer apps show the fastest growth in Western Europe:
- International providers lead: US and Nigerian apps dominate, with Indian players gaining traction in the UK.
- High reliance on existing users: Retargeting accounts for 25–40% of conversions, far higher than neobanks and investment apps.
- Category momentum: Money transfer remains one of the fastest-growing finance sub-verticals in the region.
Additional findings from the report include:
- Investment app growth follows crypto markets — acquisition spikes when Bitcoin and other coin prices rise, underscoring volatility.
- Investment apps depend on niche channels — over 80% of paid installs come from smaller agencies and ad networks, with only 15–20% from major platforms or owned media. The traffic quality in these niche channels is sub-par, but it’s a trade-off investment apps are willing to make to achieve scale.
- Owned media plays different roles — banks generate about 45% of installs from owned media vs 35% for neobanks, which lean more on ad networks, DSPs, and TikTok.
About the Research
The data set by AppsFlyer is based on anonymous, aggregate data from 187 finance & fintech apps across the United Kingdom, France, Germany. The report covers the period from January 2022 through July 2025 and includes data on over 180 million app installs and 65+ million retargeting conversions annually. Non-organic installs, retargeting conversions and retention metrics were derived from AppsFlyer’s attribution platform.
About AppsFlyer
AppsFlyer helps brands make better decisions by providing privacy-preserving measurement, analytics, fraud protection, and engagement technologies. Built on the idea that brands can increase customer trust by putting user privacy first, AppsFlyer empowers thousands of creators and marketers with a comprehensive suite of tools to grow their business and innovate responsibly.For more information, visit www.appsflyer.com.
