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Manage Money Like a Pro with iF Design Awards’ Best Finance Apps of 2021

The financial world moves so fast that it can be difficult to know how to keep up, or where to even start. Thankfully, tech companies around the world are making cutting-edge advancements to help consumers enhance their financial literacy. While the rapid growth of this market can be intimidating, the expert team behind the iF Design Awards has their finger on the pulse of which innovations are worth putting to use. After sorting through thousands of entries, judges picked the following finance apps for their user-friendly interface, accessibility, and streamlined operation.

This list features perfect picks for all levels of investors, whether a student planning the future or an experienced investor looking for the most high-tech assistance in the modern market. These beautifully designed apps offer a wide variety of services, like strengthening financial literacy, making socially conscious investments, and assisting with small business loans. Click through this list to see the best the financial tech world has to offer.

1.) Yapi Kredi Mobile

As the bank that first introduced many innovations, Yapi Kredi has been a pioneer of digital banking in Turkey. In recent years, they have restructured the banking experience with innovations on digital banking and a contactless banking experience. Being contactless has been vital in the pandemic. They believe it is crucial to understand customer needs, in this case contactless technology, even before the need becomes crucial to a customer’s everyday life. Today, Yapi Kredi Mobile offers a simpler design to provide a superior customer experience with over 600 transactions.

2.) ministock

Ministock is a FinTech app allowing a person to invest in fractional shares of overseas stocks. The app’s easy-to-navigate UI makes it simple for even a beginner to get involved in global stock trading. The designers wanted to make the investing experience fun and enjoyable for young and first-time investors through a design with friendly, engaging graphics. Traditional candle charts and stock quotes have been replaced with simple line charts to make the investing experience less intimidating but more informative. Intuitive icons and a navigation menu also provide enhanced accessibility.

3.) Flowe: better banking, better being

To address generational transition, Banca Mediolanum decided to create an independent company to approach younger target audiences such as Millennials and Gen Zers. The result is Flowe, an ELMI (electronic money institution) and a benefit corporation. The designers recently completed a design path to define a new user experience through a native app, which in addition to account and payment services within the PSD2 framework, could also offer a real ecosystem focused on aspects that are important to young people:

4.) o2 Money Ap

o2 Money is a smart financial companion for everyone. The comdirect app gives users an overview of their financial situation by using smart data algorithms to categorize earnings and spending and identify hidden costs in their personal spending habits. Users gain transparency about their financial situation so they can achieve more financial autonomy. comdirect partnered with Telefonica to develop this mobile banking solution for non-customers that is easy to use and simplifies complex topics. The app combines a native banking app for comdirect accounts with a financial companion that is useable with every German giro account.

5.) Hyundai Card APP 3.0

Hyundai Card App is the main mobile application for the company’s credit card customers. Customers use the app to carry out various card-related activities such as viewing transactions, applying for new cards, and making payments. The newly designed App 3.0, however, goes beyond finance. By providing two main homes, one for the traditional card-related activities and another for useful and interesting contents tailored to customers’ needs, the app allows users to more conveniently find the information they are looking for. Designed with card-inspired components, the app acts as a convenient digital companion to the users’ spending experience.

6.) AQUA

AQUA is a new way of managing personal assets, an interactive banking app that takes its cues from how people do accounting in their heads. According to behavioral science, people regularly perform “mental accounting” in which they place different values on money based on subjective criteria. It is only natural for those criteria to be malleable, often changing in importance with money flowing toward one or the other. AQUA is a service that builds upon this “mental accounting” and turns it into a visual and tangible system. Through this novel asset management system, users can systematize their personal assets however they choose so that they can better plan how to spend their money.

7.) Integro

Integro is Akbank’s core banking platform that acts as the prime stage for its employees, enabling and empowering them to give their customers the best banking service. This platform is basically where one can perform all banking operations in the smartest and most user-friendly way. With this objective in mind, Integro has been redesigned to create a competent sales and productivity instrument that highlights what’s significant, enhances the efficiency of the work process, minimizes human blunders, eases performing various tasks and enables joint effort.

8.) O2

O2 is an application that enables financial investment and asset management in non face-to-face channels. The goal is to deliver a positive experience to users with «easy» financial investment services. In order to provide a service that goes beyond the stereotype of “financial investment is difficult,” financial terms are recast into everyday language, showing that financial investment is no different from an online shopping experience. Furthermore, personalization services have been introduced. In addition to basic asset information, optimal investment products are presented based on personal data that fits the user’s situation and interests.

9.) ALINE

Aline helps people align their investment and consumption with their values
and received the iF gold award by the iF Jury for this new thinking. With growing awareness of sustainability, people want their money to contribute to making the world a better place. Beyond profit-making, Aline considers social and environmental value and impact. The personal value index, with its six main criteria, translates values into sustainable finance. By gathering the data from the initial survey and from regular value updates, the index is weighted according to the user’s values. The investment portfolio is adjusted according to the index, and consumption against the user’s values.

10.) AI Financial Assistant - AInn

Ping An Bank has made an AI financial assistant a reality through the use of cutting-edge technologies: combining ASR, NLP, TTS, and Big Data, the AInn financial assistant brings online banking to the next level. AInn is considerate and proactive, offering three key features: proactive service, timely advice, and smart recommendations. When a user is hesitant, AInn provides help even before the user asks. Timely guides pop up if a user gets lost in a process. Recommendations are made based on the individual and the situation.

11.) From Garanti BBVA

Garanti BBVA Mobile is a mobile banking application that enables users to make their banking transactions anytime and anywhere. The application has approximately 500+ different functions and 9.1 million customers. The existing users’ experiences was improved by evaluating their behavior and making it more accessible for users with low digital familiarity. The aim in design is to create a system that is easy and safe for our non-digital users, and they have provided a fast and practical Garanti BBVA mobile experience for digital users.

12.) Bank SinoPac-DAWHO APP

DAWHO APP is a digital banking application that provides mobile financial services based on customer needs anytime and anywhere. The app’s unique and aesthetic UI/UX design has successfully transformed the traditional visual image of financial products and services in Taiwan. Unlike other competitors who use cute mascots as their brand identity, this app uses Tai Chi as its leitmotif, a black and white semi-circle, which means originating from nature in Chinese. The yellow golden color expresses a delicate, refined atmosphere and creates a personal connection. It is more than just a financial service, offering the user a pleasant experience and courteous interaction.

13.) Airstar Bank

HK’s first complete online banking application offers a 24/7 banking service geared towards young users and small and medium-sized businesses. The aim was to allow users to enjoy equal financial opportunities. Meanwhile, the contactless service has profoundly changed the operation model vs. the in-person model of traditional banks. It is of great significance in the current economic environment with regards to the pandemic. The app greatly improves user experience and efficiency, such as loan approval speed, risk control, and support. The company´s focus is on forming healthy spending and financial habits, making a long-term commitment to grow together with users.