Best practices from leading European investment services

Markswebb is dedicated to the continuous study and analysis of digital service practices, especially in the realm of investment services. Through our extensive work, we identify key elements that contribute to creating an exceptional user experience (UX).

Here, we present an overview of the innovative strategies employed by leading European investment services. We have categorized this collection into seven sections, each representing the current state of digital services in brokerage applications. This compilation is the result of our research expertise, realized through our periodic Digital Investment Rank research, and repeatedly tested in our own projects and case studies.

You might find it helpful to know that our offerings include a UI/UX search service, which can be customized to any geography, and systematic enhancements through audits and benchmarks. These services identify areas of improvement, recommend swift remedies, and compare your service against competitors based on hundreds of criteria.

7 categories of best practices from leading European investment services

In this insight, we have curated some of the most well-known best practices from leading European investment services across the following categories:

1. Onboarding
2. User-centred design
3. Personalisation
4. Gamification and wow-features
5. Hints & Tips
6. Platformification
7. Community

These categories reflect our deep understanding of current trends and are selected to address the most critical aspects of delivering a top-notch digital experience in investment services. Let's take a closer look at these practices and explain what makes them notable as exactly how they work for the popularity of their services

Onboarding

Effective onboarding is crucial for engaging a broad audience, from beginners to experienced investors. We focus on how services can simplify the entry process and retain users from the start. A seamless onboarding experience not only helps users get started quickly but also ensures that they feel confident and supported as they navigate the platform.

Examples: Degiro and Naga

Degiro, a popular investment platform based in the Netherlands, offers a clear and user-friendly onboarding process that caters to both new and experienced investors. The platform is designed to make the initial setup straightforward, ensuring that users can start investing with minimal friction.

Screenshot 1: A Platform tailored to You

The first screenshot showcases Degiro’s emphasis on personalization and accessibility. It highlights features like:

• Personalized experience: Users can select their experience level (Beginner, Experienced, Expert) right from the start, allowing the platform to tailor the experience accordingly.
• Product familiarization: The "Get to know the products" section helps users assess whether companies align with their values using ESG ratings and provides analyst views on selected products.
• Ease of access: Degiro ensures easy access to its platform with features like biometric login options (Touch or Face ID) and two-factor authentication (2FA), enhancing both security and usability.
• Market awareness: The "Well informed" section offers real-time financial news and market updates, keeping users informed about global financial markets.

Screenshot 2: Become an investor in 3 steps

The second screenshot illustrates Degiro’s straightforward onboarding process, broken down into three simple steps:

1. Sign up: Users are prompted to create a username, verify their email, and complete identity verification to gain access to the platform.
2. Deposit: Degiro allows users to deposit any amount of money into their investment account for free, making the process accessible to all.
3. Invest: The final step encourages users to make their first investment, highlighting the platform's low fees as an added incentive.

This streamlined onboarding process - packed into a manageable 3 steps - is a key example of how Degiro effectively reduces barriers to entry, making it easier for users to start investing quickly and confidently.

Screenshot 3: Onboarding with Naga

Naga is a fintech platform based in Germany, offering a comprehensive suite of tools for trading and investing. Naga’s onboarding process is designed to make new users feel at ease, especially those who are unsure about investing.

This screenshot from Naga’s platform highlights the multi-faceted approach to onboarding, which includes:

• Educational support: Naga provides robust educational resources through its "NAGA Academy," which includes articles, educational videos, webinars, and eBooks. These resources are essential for beginners who may feel uncertain about trading. The emphasis on learning, starting with the basics of trading, helps users build confidence.
• Low fees: To further ease the concerns of new users, Naga offers competitive fees and discounts. By minimizing the costs associated with trading, Naga reduces the perceived financial risk, making the entry into investing less intimidating.
• Community support: Naga promotes its growing community of users, reinforcing the idea that new investors are not alone. Being part of an active community where users can share insights and learn from others helps reduce the fear and uncertainty that often accompany the first steps in investing.

This combination in one block of education, low costs, and community engagement makes Naga’s onboarding process particularly effective for beginners, ensuring they feel supported and confident as they start their investment journey.

User-centred

As digital experiences evolve, user-centred design remains at the core of creating intuitive and responsive interfaces that cater to user needs, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience. This design philosophy focuses on understanding the users, their behaviors, and their needs to create digital products that are not only functional but also delightful to use.

Example: Revolut

Revolut, a renowned fintech company based in the UK, is a prime example of user-centred design in action. Known for its innovative approach to banking and financial services, Revolut provides a wide range of features, including currency exchange, budgeting tools, and investment options, all within a single, easy-to-use app.

Screenshot: User-centred experience in Revolut

This screenshot from Revolut's platform showcases how the company prioritizes user needs through various features:

• Personalized spending options: The interface offers users multiple ways to manage their spending, whether it's through a joint account, a kid's account, or accumulating points through Revolut's rewards program. This flexibility ensures that different types of users can find options that suit their lifestyle.
• Visual appeal and clarity: The design is visually appealing and clearly organized, making it easy for users to navigate the app and understand their financial options at a glance. The use of vibrant colors and clear icons enhances the user experience.
• Engagement through rewards: Revolut also engages users by offering "RevPoints" for various activities, encouraging them to use the platform more frequently and benefit from its services.

Revolut’s user-centred approach is evident in how it simplifies complex financial tasks, making them accessible and engaging for users of all experience levels.

Personalisation

Modern investors demand experiences tailored to their specific needs. Personalisation strategies allow services to meet these expectations, offering customized content, alerts, and recommendations that enhance user engagement and satisfaction. By focusing on personalisation, platforms can provide more relevant information and create a more meaningful experience for their users.

Example: Revolut again

Screenshot: Personalised experience in Revolut

This screenshot from Revolut's platform demonstrates how the company incorporates personalisation to keep users informed and engaged:

• Customised alerts and performance tracking: Revolut offers personalized alerts and performance insights that are tailored to individual user preferences. For instance, users can receive alerts based on specific stocks, currencies, or market trends they are interested in, ensuring they never miss important updates.
• Relevant news and analytics: The platform provides users with customized news feeds and analytics, focusing on the assets and markets that matter most to them. This level of personalisation helps users make informed decisions by keeping them updated on relevant financial news and performance metrics.

Revolut’s emphasis on personalisation ensures that each user receives a unique experience, tailored to their specific financial goals and interests. This approach not only improves user engagement but also helps investors feel more connected and informed in their financial journeys.

Gamification and wow-features

To keep users engaged and motivated, leading services are increasingly incorporating gamification elements and "wow" features that make the investment journey more interactive and rewarding.

These features not only enhance user experience but also encourage users to spend more time on the platform, exploring and utilizing its various tools and offerings.

Example: Naga

Naga, particularly known for its social trading features, allows users to follow and copy the strategies of experienced traders. The platform leverages gamification and "wow" features to make the investment experience both engaging and educational.

Screenshots: Gamification in Naga

• Explore top traders: Naga showcases its top traders in a leaderboard format, allowing users to see who is currently the most successful on the platform. This feature is designed to motivate users by showing them potential earnings and strategies that have proven successful. Users can dive into the profiles of these top traders to learn about their trading habits, strategies, and the risks they take.

• Autocopy feature: The platform also includes an "Autocopy" function, enabling users to automatically replicate the trades of their chosen top traders in real-time. This feature not only simplifies the trading process for beginners but also adds an element of excitement and engagement, as users can directly see the impact of these strategies on their portfolio.

• Interactive leaderboard and news feed: Naga’s interactive leaderboard and news feed allow users to stay updated on the latest trends and discussions within the trading community. Users can chat with other traders, share insights, and gain real-time feedback, further enhancing the social and gamified aspects of the platform.

These gamification elements and "wow" features make Naga's platform not just a tool for trading but an engaging, community-driven experience. Users are encouraged to explore, learn, and participate actively, making their investment journey more rewarding and enjoyable.

It's noteworthy that this "wow" feature is prominently displayed on the main page, emphasizing its importance. This approach aligns with the current trends and needs of the growing generations who are familiar with convergent digital environments such as esports, online gaming, and the metaverse.

It's also important to highlight the differentiated and well-structured content of this "wow" feature, as it includes various levels. This shows a thoughtful approach to catering to users with different needs and levels of experience, ensuring that the feature remains engaging and valuable for a wide range of users.

Hints & Tips

Providing timely guidance and actionable insights helps users make informed decisions, which is especially important in a complex field like investment. This category explores how to effectively offer this support to enhance user confidence and improve investment outcomes.

Screenshot: Hints & Tips in Naga

• Economic event alerts: Naga prominently displays upcoming high-impact economic events, such as the Claimant Count Change and the Producer Price Index (PPI), which can significantly influence market conditions. Users receive notifications and updates through various channels, including email newsletters, the news feed, and the blog.
• Actionable insights: By informing users of the potential impact on specific assets (e.g., GBP, FTSE100, USD, XAU), Naga helps traders prepare and adjust their strategies accordingly. This proactive guidance is crucial for making informed decisions and optimizing trading outcomes.

Naga’s focus on delivering relevant and timely information exemplifies how investment platforms can support their users with practical, actionable advice, helping them navigate the complexities of the financial markets with greater confidence.

Platformification

The integration of multiple services into a single, cohesive platform reflects the growing trend of offering a one-stop solution for investors. This approach simplifies the user experience and enhances functionality, allowing users to manage all their investment needs from one place.

Example: Naga

Naga exemplifies platformification by offering a variety of tools and services within a unified platform, accessible across multiple devices. Whether users prefer to trade on their mobile devices, through a web interface, or using professional trading software like MetaTrader, Naga ensures they have the flexibility to do so.

Screenshots: Platformification in Naga

• Variety of platforms: Naga supports trading on both mobile and web platforms, ensuring that users can access their accounts and trade on the go. The platform is compatible with popular trading tools like MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which are integrated seamlessly into the Naga ecosystem.

• All-in-One experience: Naga combines various essential trading features into one platform. This includes professional support, social features for connecting with a global community of traders, access to over 1,000 tradable assets, and an educational feed. This comprehensive approach ensures that everything a trader needs is available within a single, easy-to-use interface.

Naga’s platformification strategy not only simplifies the trading process but also enhances user engagement by providing a rich, multi-functional environment that caters to both novice and experienced traders.

Community

Building a strong community around investment services fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, and trust among users. This category highlights the importance of social elements in today’s digital investment landscape, where users seek not just tools, but also a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

Examples: Trade Republic, Revolut, and Naga

Trade Republic, a leading European investment platform, exemplifies the concept of community through both its name and its mission. The name "Trade Republic" itself evokes the idea of a community-driven entity where individuals collectively participate in the financial system. This emphasis on community is further reflected in the platform's minimalist design, which conveys clarity, transparency, and inclusivity.

Screenshot 1: Community in Trade Republic

• Mission statement: The screenshot prominently features Trade Republic’s mission: "We are on a mission to empower everyone to create wealth with easy, safe and free access to the financial system." This statement is direct and inclusive, underscoring the platform’s commitment to democratizing finance and fostering a community where everyone has the opportunity to grow their wealth.

Screenshot 2: Community in Revolut

• Minimalist design: We can see the same the minimalist design of the Revolut’s screenshot, with its bold typography and clean layout, reflects the platform’s focus on simplicity and accessibility. By stripping away unnecessary elements, Trade Republic and Revolut emphasizes the core values of trust, transparency, and user empowerment, all of which are crucial in building a strong, engaged community.

Screenshot 3: Community in Naga

• Interactive conversations: The image showcases users engaging in real-time conversations about market trends and strategies. This interaction highlights the platform’s social trading aspect, where community members can discuss and collaborate on investment decisions, reinforcing the idea that they are not trading alone.
• Global reach: The presence of users from different countries, as indicated by the flags, underscores Naga's global community. This diversity enriches the platform by bringing in various perspectives and experiences, making it a vibrant space for learning and growth.
• Incentives to join: Naga also incentivizes new users to join the community by offering a $10,000 practice account. This allows users to start trading in a risk-free environment while benefiting from the collective knowledge and support of the community.

Naga’s approach to fostering a strong community is integral to its platform, providing users with a network of peers to collaborate with and learn from, which enhances the overall trading experience.

Community is arguably the most important aspect of modern investment platforms because it transforms the trading experience from a solitary activity into a collaborative journey.

A strong community fosters a sense of belonging, enabling users to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and support each other. This collective intelligence not only helps individuals make more informed decisions but also builds trust and loyalty toward the platform. In an increasingly digital world, where users seek both connection and empowerment, community is the key to creating a dynamic and engaging environment that drives long-term success.

Wrapping up

In this insight, we've offered just a small glimpse into the vast array of best practices and strategies that can elevate your investment platform to new heights.

However, this is only the beginning. Our team is ready to delve deeper into your specific project, analyze its unique needs, and propose the most impactful development trajectories tailored to your goals. Whether you're aiming to enhance user engagement, streamline onboarding, or build a thriving community, we are here to help you achieve exceptional results.

Let’s work together to transform your platform into a market leader, equipped with the best practices that drive success in today’s competitive digital landscape.