Develop an award winning mobile banking experience

As consumers become more and more comfortable with mobile banking, which banks are winning the mobile banking race when it comes to delivering a top customer experience whilst other struggle? What do you need to do in order to compete successfully?

A recent study by Forrester found that US banks are at the top when it comes to mobile banking. They examined the mobile banking activities of 15 of the biggest banks in North America, Western Europe, and Australia.

As expected, the UK lags behind as the US and Europe take the lead largely due to the UK being slow to embark on mobile banking services. Chase bank has taken top spot with La Caixa in Europe taking 2nd place. Other US and Canadian banks scoring highly were Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and RBC. Canadian bank ING Direct were also recognised recently for their mobile banking experience on Blackberry as they won the BlackBerry Achievement Award in the 'Putting Customers First' category.

So what are the gold plated mobile banking features?

1. Access mobile banking across a wide range of devices
2. Multiple ways to carry out mobile banking 
3. Proactive banking alerts 
4. Allowing customers to manage payments 
5. Person to person payments 
6. Advanced functionality 
7. Tailor customers' mobile banking experience

You will find that all of these banks will offer customers the ability to sign up for mobile banking from a range of devices such as the popular smartphone, android, iPad and Blackberry. This is important as you do not want to exclude any of your customers and not everyone uses a smartphone. You need to consider your audience - who are they, where are they - and think about what devices they will most likely use to access mobile banking.

The majority of banks above are also offering customers the opportunity to carry out mobile banking across text, mobile sites and various apps. This allows customers to choose a platform which suits them, giving a more tailored service.

Proactive banking alerts are also being offered by some banks where SMS alerts are sent when account balances reach a certain threshold for example. A study by Varolii found almost 2 in 3 people in the US felt their bank was responsible for notifying them instantly when funds were low or there was not enough in the account to cover a bill. Proactive alerts can be a strong tool for raising the customer service and developing deeper relationships with customers.

Mobile banking payments is an area where much development is being undertaken. Many banks are allowing customers to manage payments from a mobile device but not all will allow you to set up the payee, amend and cancel payments and set up future payments. Giving customers this type of freedom greatly enhances their banking experience and allows the bank to cut transaction costs considerably.

Person to person payments using just a mobile number or the individual's email address is very novel and exciting. This is very important as using a mobile to carry out banking activities does create some difficulties as screens and keys are considerably smaller. Trying to find and type in a person's account number and other details required is a more time consuming process which can often be frustrating as you may type in the wrong details due to buttons being smaller (as I do)! Simply needing an email address or phone number makes the whole process easier and more enjoyable, creating a happy banking customer.

Advanced functionality can help you differentiate your bank from others and give a clear motivator for customers to choose your bank. One of the hottest topics at the moment is mobile cheque deposits as banks begin to launch this service to their customers. This service allows customers to use their mobile to deposit a cheque into their account - cutting out the need to visit a branch and wait in a queue - they can now deposit a cheque at the touch of a button. For everyday consumers, this may not be an exciting feature but for businesses where cheques are a more common form of payments, this is a real time saver and can enhance their loyalty to the bank.

La Caixa has tailored the mobile banking experience for customers by allowing them to modify the landing screen on their iPhone app. This can help customers feel special and appreciated, creating a stronger bond between customers and the bank. Are there opportunities for you to tailor mobile banking services for customers?

If you have any other features or services which you believe are crucial in delivering an enjoyable mobile banking experience, please get in touch and let us know. Alternatively, please visit our Solution Planner to discover other innovative mobile banking uses.

For further information regarding HSL, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com

follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @hslmobile, Facebook or Google+

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605 260

or email us at sales@hslmobile.com

Banks Struggle to Cut the Mustard and Customers Jump Ship

Mobile banking is becoming the new norm in society as customers continue to embrace it as they recognise the convenience and simplicity involved. Mobile banking offers a multitude of benefits for banks - increased loyalty, reduced overheads and increased revenue to name just a few. However, realising 'what's in it for me' for the customer is a different story. 

Customers are increasingly searching for more sophisticated mobile banking functions with user simplicity and accessibility that are not readily available in the market and some are frankly not cutting the mustard.

A new study by Varolii shows that only slightly more than half of those surveyed were able to carry out more sophisticated banking functions via their banking app such as proactive account alerts and cheque deposits. However, customers continue to seek more proactive alerts to help them manage their money as the cost of living increases and the amount of disposable cash diminishes. With only just over half of banks already offering these features, others run the risk that their customers will jump ship.

Almost 2 in 3 customers believe banks are responsible for alerting them instantly when funds are low and there is not enough money to pay bills and this figure is much higher in 'younger' consumers. Many also feel a banking app could have helped them manage their finances better to avoid financial problems and that banks are profiteering through not offering a proactive service.  The big risk banks have here is that by not developing these features, customers will become dissatisfied and increasingly irate with the bank, with the possibility that they leave and go elsewhere or take their money out of banks altogether.

With account security being a number one concern, banks should be doing everything possible to safeguard accounts. Customers highlighted the number one feature they want from their banking app is to be instantly notified if there is any irregular activity suspected as they seek more control over managing the safety of their account. However, 81% are not receiving any such notifications. This does not help customers feel valued by their bank and has a negative effect on loyalty yet again.

The quality of banking apps is no longer 'a nice to have' but crucial as Varolii also reveals that apps which customers don’t find useful are likely to be deleted. Considering reports that the quality of mobile banking can be a key deciding factor on whether or not new customers join your bank, it is extremely important that banks focus on what customers are looking for and develop solutions which suit their needs to give them more valuable features.

Going forward, banks must develop more innovative mobile banking features or run the risk of losing customers. Find out how UK banks are beginning to catch up with innovations taking place in the market by visiting our HSL Blog.

For further information regarding HSL, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com 

follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @hslmobile or Google+  

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605260

or email us at sales@haysystems.com