The pandemic accelerated the increase in time spent with mobile activities in the US. Most of these gains will stick as people return to a more normal life in 2021.

App usage is strong, but advertisers need to rethink their strategies, thanks to ad tracking and measurement changes.

Super apps in Asia, such as WeChat, Alipay, and mobile messaging app Line, have dominated ecommerce and online services in the region for years. Now, some Western apps are trying to build their own super apps by creating marketplaces next to their core financial, social, or delivery services. Most of these apps use a combination of monetization methods, including commissions and ad serving.

Musk says he’d consider turning Twitter into a super app with a strong payments focus and pointed to WeChat as a “good model.”

Research shows that consumers engage with 95% of SMS marketing messages within three minutes of receipt, illustrating the potential of this fast-growing and effective marketing channel.

The average number of smartphone apps used in the US will decrease over the next few years, following a pandemic-driven bump in 2020 that did not change the overall trend. This year, users will access an average of 20.4 apps each month, a figure that will drop to 19.7 in 2026.

US smartphone gamers will spend $18.83 billion on virtual goods this year, a massive sum compared with the $0.78 billion they’ll spend on subscriptions. These intangible assets make up a growing industry in the gaming world, especially as more companies—from Nike to Spotify to Chipotle—enter the metaverse via games like Roblox.

The super app model is moving to the West and will upend how consumers interact with financial services. Banks must start preparing now to make the changing tide work to their advantage.

It now lets users convert payments to Bitcoin, and it launched two products to let customers access third-party apps.

This second annual benchmark evaluates seven Canadian financial institutions across six feature categories and weights their scores according to the results of a survey of mobile banking users in Canada.

On the same day, it listed on the NASDAQ and launched US banking operations, aiming to challenge Big Tech and payments providers by tapping into immigrant populations.

On today's episode, we discuss why Zelle (and person-to-person payment apps) are in hot water, which service most Americans use, and how we'll be paying for things in 2026. "In Other News," we talk about the current state of the cryptocurrency crash and the impact Apple Pay Later will have on the buy now, pay later space. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jaime Toplin and Adriana Nunez.

Capital One was the most downloaded US banking app between January and April 2022, with 5.0 million net new installations. Digital-only contender Chime took the No. 2 spot, with 4.7 million, while Chase came in third, with 4.1 million net new installs.

Doctor search and booking company Sesame Health raised $27M as patients lose loyalty to physicians—especially if they have lousy ratings online.

MindMaze has plans to validate its latest digital therapy for stroke intervention in the US. We detail why its new AMA codes could help it stand out to clinicians.