The effects of gamified affordances on the gameful experience in FinTech services targeted at young audiences

  • In recent years the idea of enhancing services with game-like features has gained traction in the field of Human Computer Interactions. This act of using these affordances to heighten motivation in users has been coined "gamification". The process of gamification starts with the "gameful experience" a user has when interacting with these gamified services, which therefore plays a huge role in reaching behavioral change. One domain in which empirical research about gamification overall, but more closely gameful experiences, has been limited is the wide domain of FinTech. In this field services targeting younger users can have huge benefits in the user's financial decision-making. This thesis tries to answer two research questions: (1) can gamified affordances in a FinTech service targeted at younger audiences have a positive effect on the user and (2) can gamified affordances have a positive effect on the perceived user experience in these services. For this, two gamified affordances (achievements and leaderboards) were created, builtIn recent years the idea of enhancing services with game-like features has gained traction in the field of Human Computer Interactions. This act of using these affordances to heighten motivation in users has been coined "gamification". The process of gamification starts with the "gameful experience" a user has when interacting with these gamified services, which therefore plays a huge role in reaching behavioral change. One domain in which empirical research about gamification overall, but more closely gameful experiences, has been limited is the wide domain of FinTech. In this field services targeting younger users can have huge benefits in the user's financial decision-making. This thesis tries to answer two research questions: (1) can gamified affordances in a FinTech service targeted at younger audiences have a positive effect on the user and (2) can gamified affordances have a positive effect on the perceived user experience in these services. For this, two gamified affordances (achievements and leaderboards) were created, built into prototypes of the FinTech start-up Pigtie and tested with participants in the ages from 18-32 (n=15) in a controlled usability setting. Analysis of the gameful experience questionnaire GAMEFULQUEST, the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and qualitative statements showed possible benefits in using gameful affordances in these systems and heightening the perceived gameful experience for end-users. Therefore, this work showed overall positive results on all gameful dimensions of the GAMEFULQUEST as well as a higher perceived hedonic quality. But due to the fact that FinTech is a special domain in regard to privacy, security and user's attitudes toward personal finances and particularities only relating to this field are also discussed. As this work represents only a small segment in the FinTech space with a younger target group, it can be assumed that further research is needed to explore and validate more gameful designs in FinTech.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Jonathan Christopher Balcombe
Language:English
Document Type:Master's Thesis
Reviewer(s) at THI:Simon Nestler, Andreas Riener
Publishing Institution:Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt
Date of first Publication:2023/10/24
Year of first Publication:2023
Place of publication:Ingolstadt
Pages:73, XXXII
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:573-40959
Faculties / Institutes / Organizations:Fakultät Informatik
Degree Programmes:User Experience Design (M. Sc.)
Licence (German):License Logo Urheberrechtsschutz
Release Date:2023/11/13