How to Make People Act on Your Mobile Banking App

Mobile banking options are essential for financial institutions. According to Business Insider, in 2019, 89% of survey respondents used mobile banking. This popularity didn’t lie in just one generation. In fact, 97% of millennials used mobile banking, along with 91% of Gen X-ers and 79% of Baby Boomers. Not only this, but mobile wallet adoptions and transactions went up by more than 50% last year. By now, it’s clear that having a mobile banking app is essential, but is just having the app enough?

We know that consumers want to use an app when possible for their banking. But even if you have an app, if it isn’t user-friendly, your customers will feel frustrated, will have to resort to using their desktop, or even worse, will switch to a competitor that will offer them a frustration-free in-app experience.

When it Comes to Features, the More ≠ the Merrier

So how can you give your users the best experience? Your first instinct may be to come up with a bunch of new unique features leveraging the latest technologies. You wouldn’t be alone either, banks are constantly putting out ads for their new ultra cool, high-tech features, and anyone with a mobile banking app knows about those pesky alerts of “Check out this new feature!” popping up on their screen. 

The truth is, a bunch of extra features, that your customers don’t want or need, just end up becoming clutter on your app. If your app has too many confusing features, users will get lost and most likely have a harder time finding the features they actually want to use. Having more unique features isn’t inherently bad, just make sure these features are to solve an actual problem, task, or concern that your customers have, and not just an excuse to use cool technology.

Easy Navigation is Key

Rather than a bunch of unnecessary fancy features, what users really want out of their mobile banking app is convenience. They want to be able to get in and check their balance, deposit a check, or whatever it may be, and get out as quickly as possible. In order to do this, they need an app that is easily navigable so they can immediately find the specific feature they are looking for, rather than having to scroll through the entire app to find one function. 

One way to make in-app navigation simple for your users is to implement an app-wide search capability. This way users can open the app, type what they want to do into the search bar, and immediately be taken where they need to go. This may seem obvious, but according to Forrester only 5 out of 53 banks surveyed had app-wide search. This just goes to show that a lot more can be done to make mobile banking apps more user-friendly.

An Omni-Channel Experience 

While banking customers may be utilizing mobile apps more and more, this doesn’t mean they are ruling out other channels all together. For more complicated transactions and decisions, many customers will still opt to use their desktop, call customer service, or even come into your bank in person. Your app should aim not to be an alternate to these other options, but a supplement. What will really make users want to act on your app is a seamless experience,  from their online banking on other devices, phone calls, or in-person visits, directly to their mobile device. Data from any interaction the user has with your bank should instantly go to their app, so that whatever next step the user decides to take, there won’t be any inconsistencies in their experiences across multiple channels with your bank. This way you ensure the user has no reason to get frustrated having to redo anything within your app. 

Another key part of a user-friendly omnichannel experience is making sure your bank employees are extremely familiar with your mobile banking app. Employees should be experts that can help customers with any functions they may not understand, and can make suggestions on ways things can be done more easily through the app so that the customer doesn’t have to come in person every time. 

Listening Matters

No matter what features your mobile banking app has, the most important thing is to listen to your customers. If your app is designed with a customer-centric approach, and every detail is thought out to make their banking experience easier and more seamless, then your app is sure to become an integral banking tool for all of your customers.