Who led banking app downloads in 2021?

2021 was all about digital. Digital banking, digital payments, and digital currencies all enjoyed significant time under the spotlight. People moved further away from their bank branches, as they performed all they needed to do over their mobile apps.

As we gear up for 2022, let's look back at the mobile applications spearheading this shift to digital. Apptopia recently released its global download data from the past year, showing which applications led across different categories.

The US witnessed a boom of downloads in the mobile banking category. A fair mix of digital-first and traditional brick-and-mortar banks made the top 10 list of most downloads in the category. Chime, a mobile-first neobank, led the ranks. It topped the download charts, ahead of more traditional banking apps, like Bank of America and Chase. Chime counts 13 million customers, of which 8 million claim to use the bank as their primary service provider. Current, another neobank, also made the cut at the 6th position.

In 2020, the top three crypto apps totaled 18 million downloads worldwide. Last year, this figure jumped to 145 million. This data is a great way to demonstrate the global uptick in crypto adoption. The top three apps in the category - Binance, Crypto.com, and Coinbase - have now become regular mentions in table-top conversations and sporting sponsorships.

As of October 2021, Binance was estimated to have 28.6 million users. The company boasted record transaction volume, processing $76 billion a day. That makes it the biggest crypto exchange in the world.

Online shopping is another field where fintech applications now feature regularly and have made a space for themselves with offerings like reward programs and BNPL. Fetch Rewards came in at number 7 for the most downloaded shopping apps in America in 2021, and Klarna took the number 10 spot.