The digital sector is gradually shifting from basic applications to powerful super apps — all-in-one mobile solutions that cover dozens of services.

Today, thanks to the high demand in the Asian market, <a href="https://brands.dentsu.com/year-review-2021/demystifying-superapps-lessons-from-singapore" rel="nofollow">one in three</a> of the global population are super app users, and this number keeps growing. What’s more, the trend is getting traction far beyond Asia — in Europe and the US.  What does this mean for the banking industry? 
We’ll explore how super apps can transform the delivery of financial services and aim to find out whether they present a threat or an opportunity for traditional banks. Let’s start with a brief definition of super apps.
<h2>What is a super app? </h2>
Super apps comprise several mini-apps to offer an all-in-one experience for a whole range of activities.  They provide an environment to perform many functions, ranging from messaging and social media to banking, shopping, and even healthcare. Users don&#8217;t need to run multiple mobile apps to access different services — super apps let them do it all in one place.
But while users can quickly find whatever they might need through the convenience of a single sign-in, it doesn&#8217;t mean they get overwhelmed with a bunch of applications and features they never use. Typically, users can choose their toolbox of mini-apps and services from the list offered within the super app. 
One example of a super app is <a href="https://www.grab.com/sg/" rel="nofollow">Grab</a>. It offers access to several services, including hotel reservations, food delivery, banking services, groceries, on-demand taxis, ticket purchases and even movie streaming. With all this functionality, Grab has attracted millions of users in Southeast Asia.
Super apps have also become popular in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa as new apps like <a href="https://disrupt-africa.com/2022/09/20/kenyas-araka-launches-on-demand-super-app-that-prioritises-drivers/" rel="nofollow">Araka</a> and <a href="https://temtemone.com/" rel="nofollow">Temtem</a> emerge on the market.
Moreover, although strict regulations has thus far dampened the market for super apps in the US and Europe, there is pent-up demand. According to <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/commerce-connected/2022/are-you-among-the-173m-americans-who-want-a-super-app/" rel="nofollow">PYMNTS data</a>, 67% of the US population, or over 173 million people, want to manage their varied digital activities without navigating through a plethora of apps.
If the super-apps take on the functions of traditional industry-oriented applications and services, will mobile banking as we know it cease to exist?  No, it’s not quite so apocalyptic. But it&#8217;s worth considering the potential threats and opportunities super apps pose for the banking industry.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="636" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-12230" src="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-1024x636.jpg" alt="The research shows that 67% of the US population want to manage digital activities without navigating through a plethora of apps." srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-1024x636.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-300x186.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-768x477.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-1536x954.jpg 1536w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-2048x1272.jpg 2048w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-362x225.jpg 362w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-352x219.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-372x231.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-309x192.jpg 309w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-100x62.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-600x373.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-2-120x75.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
The state of super apps in the banking industry
Recent research explains why super apps are spreading rapidly. In a 2022 Deloitte survey of over 2,000 US consumers, <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/technology/consumer-data-privacy.html" rel="nofollow">31%</a> felt overwhelmed and stressed by managing their various devices and subscriptions. These results indicate that the conventional model of separate digital checking, saving, investment, and personal finance app accounts is totally out of step with the times. Consumers are looking for the convenience and ease of grouped task management.
That’s where super apps come in. They help customers complete all kinds of tasks from a single interface, including banking tasks, such as:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Mobile payments </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Investing</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Subscription management</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bill payments</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Insurance</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Real estate purchases and rentals</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Personal finance management</li>
</ul>
It means traditional banks risk losing customers if they don’t prepare for the transition to super apps. In the worst-case scenario, super apps will simply create their own payment systems to replace banks that don’t adapt. But the growth trend of super apps also creates opportunities for banks to stay in the race.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-12232 size-large" src="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-1024x636.jpg" alt="The infographic explains that super apps help customers complete numerous kinds of tasks, like mobile payments, investing, subscription management, bill payments, insurance, real estate purchases and rentals, and personal finance management" width="1024" height="636" srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-1024x636.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-300x186.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-768x477.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-1536x954.jpg 1536w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-2048x1272.jpg 2048w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-362x225.jpg 362w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-352x219.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-372x231.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-309x192.jpg 309w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-100x62.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-600x373.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-3-120x75.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Financial institutions in the US and Europe are strictly regulated, preventing popular super apps from penetrating and competing in those markets. In parallel, European and US banks can use open banking to legally obtain and share financial data. In other words, open banking opens up enormous opportunities for creating advanced super apps for Western markets.
While it might seem like the move to banking supper apps would take years to fully realize, the future might be closer than you think. Look, for example, at the PayPal super app. It already <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/mobile-applications/2022/super-apps-take-another-step-forward-as-uber-joins-paypal-others-in-the-great-rollup/" rel="nofollow">offers</a> bill payments, shopping tools, educational information about cryptocurrencies, early access to direct deposits, peer-to-peer fund transfers via Venmo, and other features.
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It&#8217;s clear that banks should strategize to compete with emerging super apps. Let’s take a look at this next.
<h2>How can banks prepare for a world dominated by super apps?</h2>
To remain relevant and competitive, banks must improve and promote their own apps and product suite. What are their options in this regard?
<h3>Development strategies</h3>
With the tide turning toward super apps, banks have two main strategies to pursue: create their  super app or build a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) app that can plug into a super app ecosystem.
The first option lets banks retain and increase their customer bases. They may also want to focus on B2B super apps to bypass increased competition from the B2C segment.
The second option presents a new revenue-generating opportunity. By offering BaaS to super apps, banks can become part of the bigger ecosystem while staying focused on their core services.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="636" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-12234" src="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-1024x636.jpg" alt="Image illustrates text that there are two development strategies for banks: create their super app or build a banking-as-a-service (BAAS) app." srcset="https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-1024x636.jpg 1024w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-300x186.jpg 300w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-768x477.jpg 768w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-1536x954.jpg 1536w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-2048x1272.jpg 2048w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-362x225.jpg 362w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-352x219.jpg 352w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-372x231.jpg 372w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-309x192.jpg 309w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-100x62.jpg 100w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-600x373.jpg 600w, https://sombrainc.com/app/uploads/2023/02/The-Rise-of-the-Super-Apps-5-1-120x75.jpg 120w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Both strategies allow banks to remain competitive, and the choice depends on market circumstances and the company’s capabilities.
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<h3>Prioritize optimization</h3>
One of the benefits of super apps is that they use less storage space on users&#8217; phones than dozens of separate apps. Thus, when preparing for the super app future, banks should pay close attention to optimizing their software, regardless of which development strategy they choose.
<h3>Make data collection and use transparent</h3>
Even with all the advantages of open banking apps, in 2019, <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/5076_open-banking/DI_Open-banking.pdf" rel="nofollow">43% of consumers</a> surveyed by Deloitte believed their financial information should belong only to them, and <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/5076_open-banking/DI_Open-banking.pdf" rel="nofollow">32% feared</a> it would be stolen. As such, banks should be transparent about how they collect and use client data and provide clear information on data privacy and security.
Most importantly, the market can support a limited number of banking super apps, so institutions need to act quickly to capitalize on their chances of success before their competitors do!
<h2>Sombra can support your business growth </h2>
<a href="https://sombrainc.com/services">Sombra</a> is an app development service provider that specializes in building complex solutions that pull users, data, services, and processes together. 
With over 250 <a href="https://sombrainc.com/case-studies">projects completed</a> in fintech, finance, insurance, and other industries, Sombra can support banks on their digital transformation journey. Software development, modernization, and consulting are among the services that can be useful in this way, and our specialists can help you choose the most fitting solutions for your use case.
This way, we can help your banking institution to prepare for the super apps explosion so it can quickly adapt to the new reality and benefit from coming innovation.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Super apps are deeper, more captivating alternatives to traditional banking solutions. And although super apps haven’t yet conquered Western markets, banking institutions must make an effort now to stay competitive in the future. 
Larger banking institutions can create their own super apps, whereas smaller establishments might choose to integrate their mobile apps into a bigger super app ecosystem. In any case, banks should focus on delivering a more convenient all-in-one service for their customers. Start by getting in touch with Sombra to discuss your project with our specialists.

The Rise of the Super Apps: A Threat or an Opportunity for the Banking Industry?

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