By Samah Chowdhury
Super apps are a digital Holy Grail—elusive yet tempting.
Imagine a mobile application that seamlessly integrates messaging, transportation, financial services and entertainment, all under one virtual roof. This is the essence of a super app—a broad range of functionality in a single application.
What makes an app truly super?
Let’s start with the super app trailblazer: WeChat. WeChat is an all-encompassing lifestyle platform developed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, offering a multitude of services within a single interface. Initially launched in 2011, WeChat started as a messaging app to bridge a void in China where foreign social network platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp were inaccessible. What came to set WeChat apart over time is its integration of additional functions: ride-hailing, payments, government services and more, all within the app. In addition, WeChat has revolutionized traditional practices, exemplified by the introduction of a randomized allotment feature to its digital red envelopes during Chinese New Year. Such user-centric strategies have propelled WeChat into super app status, boasting well over 1.2 billion active users today.
Using WeChat as a benchmark, here are a few key components of super apps:
- High-frequency offerings. Super Apps thrive on providing services that users need frequently and are an integral part of their daily lives. These offerings could range from messaging and social networking to food delivery and transportation. High user engagement yields high user attention, which in turn presents extensive opportunities to increase stickiness, maximize monetization and ultimately influence user behavior.
- Micro-service architecture. A key distinction of a super app is its ability to serve as a one-stop platform for various digital services. By breaking down the app into small, independent services, it becomes more scalable and maintainable. Each service handles specific functionality and can be developed and deployed independently. By integrating multiple service providers into a single application, users’ attention is kept in one place with possibilities of customization and cross-selling designed to their specific needs.
- Payment solutions. Super apps thrive on their ability to move money. Whether value is stored (like WeChat Pay), staged (like PayPal), or passed through (like Apple Wallet), the integration of payments enhances the utility of super apps and caters to a diverse array of scenarios, including bill payment, transportation and government services and again ensuring users never leave the app.
- Technology-forward banking. Optimizing the vast repository of data and technology infrastructure within WeChat, Tencent developed WeBank, which embraced AI, blockchain technology, cloud computing, and big data to fulfill “know your customer” requirements and offer unsecured consumer loans inside WeChat. Note that direct deposit services through WeChat remain a work in progress. Users banking with HSBC China or ICBC receive real-time account information, including account balances, through virtual assistants directly in the WeChat super app.
It’s clear that WeChat has become a prominent hub for diverse digital services, filling a gap in Southeast Asian financial markets by offering accessible mobile services. Despite economic progress, more than 70% of Southeast Asians lack access to formal financial services. Super apps address this gap by providing a range of services beyond traditional banking and capitalizing on the East’s extensive adoption of mobile phones to grow financial inclusion.
Will there be a similar widespread adoption of super apps in the U.S.?
To answer this, let’s look at application evolution in the U.S. During the early stages of the Internet era, desktop computers were the primary means of accessing online content and services. This was largely due to factors such as the limited capabilities of early mobile devices, including small screens, slow internet speeds, and constrained functionality. While mobile devices primarily offered basic calling and texting, the advent of smartphones shifted consumer behaviors. Developers began creating mobile versions of desktop websites and services. As such, we began to rely more heavily on our cell phones for a wide range of activities beyond communication. Arguably, the functionality of super apps is already provided to us by our smartphones.
In contrast to the super app multi-services approach, the U.S. tech industry has been cautious about adding too many features to avoid “feature bloat”—a phenomenon where an excess of functionalities can slow down an app, relegating it to the status of a second-class contender in users’ minds. We see this with Facebook Messenger’s spin-off from Facebook and the separate existence of Amazon apps (e.g., Prime, Audible, Twitch, Amazon Music, etc.). The interconnectedness of super apps means that a breach in one service can impact others, potentially leading to severe repercussions, compromising sensitive user data and increasing the risk of cascading effects across the entire platform.
Moreover, U.S. law and policymakers’ concerns over anticompetitive practices can create a disincentive for the bold moves necessary to create a super app. The concept even made an appearance in the latest DOJ lawsuit against Apple. In January 2024, Apple broadened the capabilities of applications on its app store to allow developers to embed mini-apps that can be accessed within a larger app. While WeChat has long embraced this concept, super apps have struggled to gain traction in the U.S., partially due to Apple’s restrictions but mainly due to a lack of cultural adoption. Ultimately, it comes down to trust. The U.S. has normalized a fragmented digital marketplace in which users trust specialized apps and may hesitate to consolidate services due to privacy concerns.
While there isn’t a pressing need for a super app in the U.S., this hasn’t stopped companies from aspiring toward it. Consider Uber. It first entered the market as a direct transportation solution. Today Uber offers food delivery (Uber Eats), package delivery (Uber Connect), and grocery delivery (Uber Grocery) to its users through a single application. By extending beyond its ride-hailing use case, Uber streamlined logistics and maintained greater control over quality, pricing, and customer relationships. Super apps typically transcend individual industries and succeed by merging adjacent functions like communications with payments, essentially creating a new layer above the operating system. A great example of this ambition is X (formerly Twitter). Elon Musk was drawn to Twitter’s user base, and shortly after re-branding Twitter to X, he made public his ambition to have X be an “everything app,” which the company is still pursuing as it seeks money transmitter licenses in many states (currently obtained in 23 states).
What insights can U.S. banks draw from super apps?
Super apps strive to control every aspect of users’ digital experiences, leading to heightened rivalry across various industries. These applications are designed as dynamic ecosystems where competition extends beyond providing better services within a particular sector to providing comprehensive solutions that cater to a wide range of user needs. This trend carries substantial implications for the banking industry.
In addition, super apps are the north star of interconnected customer experiences which means that the future of financial services is being shaped by influences beyond traditional banking. The U.S. consumer has become accustomed to the user experience offered by the likes of Uber, Amazon and Apple, and is demanding a similar frictionless experience with banking. For banks in the U.S., the evolution of embedded finance has the potential to meet these shifting consumer expectations and expand the universe of digital offerings.
In the current landscape, banks involved in embedded finance are functioning as indispensable partners to nonbank platforms. These banks are fostering customer trust through secure, user-friendly experiences, promoting financial wellness with tools for budgeting and investing, and maintaining agility to swiftly respond to market shifts. However, it is worth noting that complex fintech partnerships are coming under increased regulatory scrutiny, and banks should proceed with a strong emphasis on effective compliance and risk management.
As we continue to explore this space, we look forward to sharing our insights in forthcoming pieces. Stay tuned.
Samah Chowdhury is the Senior Director of Innovation Strategy in the Office of Innovation at ABA.
