In 2024, the fintech market was worth around USD 340.10 billion. It is projected to reach USD 394.88 billion by the end of 2025. These stats indicate that the fintech industry is booming, with an increasing number of people relying on mobile apps for banking, payments, investments, and financial management. However, as the demand grows, so does the competition. Traditional fintech marketing strategies for apps like paid social ads, search ads, and influencer marketing are becoming expensive and highly saturated. This is where mobile OEM advertising steps in, providing fintech apps with a unique, high-performing channel to reach users at the device level.
Mobile OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) advertising allows fintech apps to leverage pre-installed placements, on-device recommendations, and exclusive app store promotions from leading smartphone brands. Unlike conventional marketing strategies, OEM advertising ensures high visibility, better conversion rates, and increased app installs by targeting users directly through mobile devices.
This article will explore seven powerful ways mobile OEM advertising can drive fintech app growth, helping marketers and app developers maximize their reach and user acquisition strategies.
1. Enhancing app discovery in a competitive market
North America is home to almost 12,000 fintech companies worldwide, followed by Europe with 9,200 companies and Asia Pacific with over 6,365 companies. Various other industries are also trying to grab users’ attention by launching innovative apps. With millions of apps now available on the Google Play Store and alternative app stores, fintech apps often struggle with visibility.
Traditional app store optimization (ASO) techniques can help improve rankings, but they aren’t always good enough to overcome tough competition.
Mobile OEM advertising provides an exclusive placement advantage by allowing fintech apps to appear on:
- App recommendations on new devices through the dynamic preloads or the “out-of-box experience” (OOBE) feature
- Featured sections in OEM app stores like Xiaomi GetApps, Huawei AppGallery, and Samsung Galaxy Store
- App discovery widgets on smartphone home screens
These placements guarantee visibility for fintech apps at critical moments—when users set up their new phones or browse for essential apps. This results in higher conversion rates compared to traditional app marketing channels.
2. Reaching high-intent users for better app installs
Unlike social media or search ads, which rely on user interest targeting, OEM ads reach users when they are actively looking for new apps. For fintech apps, this means getting in front of high-intent users who set up their devices, explore financial tools, or upgrade their app ecosystem.
Apps that are dynamically preloaded through OEM partnerships experience an uninstall rate that is 50% lower compared to traditional installation methods. This is because:
- OEM placements feel more organic than intrusive banner ads
- Users trust OEM app stores more than third-party ad networks
- Apps installed during the device setup see faster adoption rates, especially in banking and finance
By targeting users at the device level, fintech marketers can improve app installs, retention, and long-term engagement.
3. Lowering user acquisition costs (CAC)
One of the biggest challenges in fintech marketing is the rising cost of user acquisition (CAC). The highest customer acquisition cost is in the fintech industry, where businesses incur an average of $1,450 to acquire a new customer. With increased competition in paid advertising, fintech app marketers often struggle to maintain profitability while scaling growth.
OEM advertising offers a cost-efficient alternative by providing:
- Fixed-cost campaigns (vs. auction-based pricing in traditional ad networks)
- Higher organic uplift, reducing reliance on paid channels
- Direct partnerships with manufacturers, leading to lower bidding wars
By shifting budgets to OEM placements, fintech marketers can optimize their ad spend and reduce CAC while maintaining a steady flow of high-quality users.
4. Boosting app installs through dynamic preloads and exclusive placements
One reason to include mobile OEM advertising in your fintech marketing mix is the return on ad spend (ROAS), which ranges between 8% and 95%. Dynamic preloads are one of the most powerful features of mobile OEM advertising. When a fintech app is preloaded onto a smartphone, it eliminates the discovery and download friction, allowing users to engage with the app from day one.
Research indicates preloaded apps have higher retention rates than those downloaded through standard app store searches. The benefits include:
- Instant brand recognition, as users see the app on their home screen
- Higher install-to-signup conversions, since users don’t need to search manually
- Reduced churn, as fintech apps become part of the user’s default app ecosystem
For banking, investing, and payments apps, this approach ensures long-term usage and trust from users.
5. Leveraging alternative app stores for untapped markets
As of 2023, the global count of Android OS users stands at 3.3 billion. Beyond Google Play, many fintech apps miss out on millions of potential users by neglecting alternative app stores. Leading OEMs operate their own app stores, including:
- Xiaomi GetApps
- Huawei AppGallery
- Samsung Galaxy Store
- Vivo and OPPO App Stores
These platforms provide a less competitive and cost-effective environment for fintech apps to gain traction.
For example, Huawei AppGallery alone has over 580 million monthly active users—many of whom do not have access to Google Play. By optimizing fintech app presence across multiple OEM channels, marketers can:
- Expand reach in key growth markets like Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
- Lower cost-per-install (CPI) by avoiding oversaturated Google Play ads
- Diversify acquisition channels to minimize risk
6. Improving user engagement and retention with OEM push notifications
From July 2022 to June 2023, a global survey of smartphone users indicated that online banking applications emerged as one of the top activities. Following chat and messaging, which were utilized by 75% of users, and email communication at about 70%, accessing online banking was noted as the third most popular use of smartphones.
User engagement is critical for fintech apps, especially as many users tend to install financial apps but never fully activate their accounts. OEM push notifications and smart recommendations can help solve this problem by:
- Encouraging first-time deposits, account verifications, and KYC completion
- Sending personalized finance tips or investment insights
- Reactivating dormant users with timely promotions
Unlike traditional push notifications, which often require user opt-in, OEM push notifications appear directly within the device’s native system, making them more effective for driving user actions.
7. Strengthening brand trust and credibility
More than 44 percent of consumers globally reported trusting the digital banking and financial services sector to protect their data. Fintech apps, however, should overcome trust barriers before users commit to transactions, savings, or investments. While traditional digital ads help raise awareness, OEM partnerships give fintech brands instant credibility.
When an app is featured on Xiaomi, Samsung, or Huawei devices, it signals to users that major manufacturers trust it. This perceived trust can significantly impact:
- First-time user adoption rates
- Willingness to complete financial transactions
- Long-term loyalty and brand advocacy
This added trust can lead to a direct uplift in conversion rates and revenue for fintech marketers.
Conclusion
Mobile OEM advertising is a game-changer for app growth and should be one of the fintech marketing strategies that every marketer should adopt. By leveraging pre-installed placements, alternative app stores, high-intent user targeting, and OEM push notifications, fintech brands can increase app installs, improve retention, and lower acquisition costs.
Unlike traditional digital marketing channels, OEM ads offer fintech marketers a direct route to engaged users at the device level, ensuring higher conversion rates and long-term user engagement.
If you want to scale your fintech app in a competitive market, it’s time to explore mobile OEM advertising. Take advantage of this high-performing channel and reach users directly on their devices to drive sustainable growth.
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