The Challenge:
A long-standing client of HT Mobile Apps (HTMA), creator of Plinqit, FAB&T was offering the company’s Banker Jr. application, a savings tool and educational platform for children and families, that can also be used by teachers in a school setting to teach financial education. Because of its success, the bank began reevaluating its existing savings tools offered to its broader customer base.
FAB&T wanted a product that other banks were not offering to help position itself more competitively and that complimented its digital product strategy. Ultimately, the bank aimed to generate goodwill among its current customers and create organic growth.
The bank’s existing relationship with HTMA led it to Plinqit – a completely new and unique savings app.
The Solution:
In April 2018, FAB&T launched Plinqit, a brandable, mobile-first platform that is free, simple and easy to use. A seamless process, taking less than five minutes, Plinqit users securely link their Plinqit account to their bank account and set a savings goal. Plinqit then automatically sets aside a small amount of money at a rate and schedule the consumer chooses.
Unlike any other savings app on the market, its patent-pending Build Skills™ pays users for engaging with content, creating higher user engagement for financial institutions and improved financial literacy for users with a reward. FAB&T’s customers can watch educational videos or read articles on personal finances from the Plinqit library, take a short quiz and Plinqit rewards them by adding money towards their goal.
Enabling financial institutions to provide a non-traditional ‘cool’ tool, Plinqit helps with the first step of the financial wellness journey: saving money. Specifically, it helps Millennials and other digitally-centric individuals save for specific goals using an automated mobile experience that makes it fun, rewarding and social.
The Results:
Plinqit has proven to significantly increase user engagement and deposits for financial institutions, including FAB&T. Because of its unique approach to savings, Plinqit is more engaging than any other financial app available today, recently surpassing the industry’s average engagement rate with more than 55 percent of users actively using the app.
According to LeanPlum’s 2018 Mobile App Engagement Index, the average engagement rate of finance apps across the industry is only 36.3 percent. Additionally, more than 66 percent of Plinqit’s users who have achieved their savings goal started a new one, demonstrating the growing popularity and consumer demand for the app.
For FAB&T, Plinqit is taking the place of operationally inefficient but much loved Christmas clubs. It is helping the bank better engage with customers, attract new ones, and save money on inactive savings accounts sitting on the financial institution’s books. Most financial institutions have a significant amount of savings accounts they are paying for every month, sending statements to, that are under $500 and inactive.
With Plinqit, FAB&T is also able to grow deposits. Overall, the total number of Plinqit users have contributed more than $325,000 (and growing) in deposits. Customers are actively moving deposits into the institution while gaining a better experience and learning about money.
According to Roger Sundermeier, SVP & Chief Brand Officer with FAB&T, “In just nine months, Plinqit has proven to be the savings tool of choice among consumers. So far, we have generated several hundred Plinqit accounts with a total deposit size across all Plinqit users of more than $325K. It’s been pretty remarkable.”
About Plinqit
Plinqit is a brandable, mobile first platform that is elegant and highly powerful at the same time. Unlike any other savings app on the market, its patent-pending Build Skills™ pays users for engaging with content, creating higher user engagement for financial institutions. Created by Millennials for Millennials, Plinqit helps financial institutions connect with this important demographic in a meaningful, relevant way – bringing together digital customers, FI’s and savings in one beautiful place. For more information, visit www.plinqit.com.
About First Arkansas Bank & Trust
FAB&T is a family-owned and managed commercial bank chartered in Jacksonville, Arkansas with Total Assets of $760 million and 22 locations in Central and North Central Arkansas. FAB&T also offers a full-service mortgage department, trust and wealth management services, 24/7 Customer Call Center, and a credit card division, located in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.fabandt.com.
