One app, two app, three app, four: DECTA study shows users have ‘wallet fatigue’

While some see the concept of a “15-minute city” as sinister, advocates say they just don’t want to go very far for stuff. It’s a story that applies, in part, to the ongoing adoption of digital wallets: if given the choice, a lot of people would probably prefer to use one digital app in place of 20 – simply because they prefer to do as little work as possible to get where they’re going.

New research from DECTA confirms this: the “Wallet Fatigue 2025” report says 91 percent of respondents would consolidate to a single app if it met all their banking needs. At present, “the vast majority of digital banking users are reluctantly maintaining multiple financial apps due to feature gaps in their primary platform.” Only 2 percent prefer maintaining multiple apps by choice.

Missing features are the biggest reason users turn to multiple financial apps; specifically, security, integration and budgeting tools, each cited by over 45 percent of users. But it’s also just poor design: app review sentiment shows that “frustration with day-to-day reliability” also pushes consumers to keep a back-up app.

DECTA seems shocked by the consumer preference for convenience over choice, even though its research shows how too many apps can be a headache: “multi-app usage creates significant friction in users’ daily financial management, with 80 percent reporting at least occasional confusion about where key information is stored across different platforms.”

‘My primary app lacks certain features I need’

The big takeaway is that developers who are willing to build better features are more likely to get – and keep – customers on a single platform. “The findings suggest significant opportunities for financial service providers to capture market share by addressing feature gaps that currently force users to maintain multiple apps.”

The most in-demand missing features include (somewhat ironically) integration with other financial apps, and comprehensive budgeting and analytics tools. “Additionally, better rewards, lower fees and specialized capabilities (like multi-currency accounts or crypto trading) motivate users to branch out.”

As such, says DECTA’s report, “as financial apps continue to expand their offerings, one could expect consumers to consolidate – but until then, the multi-app ecosystem remains the norm for covering all bases in digital finance.”

Article Topics

banking  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  digital wallets  |  mobile app  |  user experience