6 Functionalities Customers Want to See in Your Mobile Banking App

As many banks can attest, the COVID-19 pandemic set off a widespread digital transformation for both their retail and their corporate banking services. But even before the virus demanded reliance on physically distanced, digitally driven banking services, many banking customers had already embraced digital channels. Mobile apps, in particular, afforded customers the ability to complete essential banking transactions on a 24/7 basis—all with the snap (or rather, a tap) of the finger. In recent years, retail customers who had the choice to download a mobile app and use it from their phone or tablet would choose mobile banking instead of banking over the counter. Mobile banking then became the go-to method for everyday financial management-related tasks.

Fast forward to 2021, and mobile banking apps have firmly taken root in the retail banking sector. These apps have become so important to retail customers that a significant portion of them—especially from the millennial and Gen Z demographic—will determine their loyalty to a banking brand based on the app alone. Knowing that, it’s time for your own financial institution to take its mobile banking app development seriously and ensure its transformation into a product that aligns with your customers’ needs. Consider upgrading to a better banking solution so that you can enhance your mobile app performance for retail banking and include these six essential functionalities.  

Instant Account Enrollment

A good portion of the retail banking customers who download your bank’s mobile app may do so for the express purpose of opening an account with you. By offering instant account enrollment on your app, you will get the opportunity to cultivate a strong first impression of your consumer banking system and earn your new customers’ trust from the get-go. 

Aim to develop a “one-touch” in-app enrollment process that’s as fast and straightforward as possible, all while staying compliant with your bank’s know your customer (KYC) regulations. If they can experience speed, efficiency, and ease of use with your retail services from the very beginning, your customers will be more than happy to continue patronizing your brand. 

Fast and Intuitive Daily Banking Capabilities

The second functionality that you’ll want on your banking app—and for sure, one of the most important functionalities—is that of a smooth and up-to-the-minute daily banking experience. When they’re on your mobile banking app, your customers will want fast and easy access to the information that represents their day-to-day banking life, like their account balance and credit card balance. 

There are several ways that you can enhance your customers’ daily banking experiences on your mobile app. For one, you can use your new banking technologies to optimize account data retrieval and make basic processes, like checking account balance, even quicker to enact. You can also work towards adding features like tailored money management insight, where your customers can access personalized advice on their financial situation and explore banking products or services that fit their life stage. Lastly, you can take special care when designing the process flow and user experience of your mobile app’s dashboard or customer home screen. The work that you may do to enhance your customers’ day-to-day banking experiences on your app may be invisible to them, but it will prove invaluable to keeping those customers in your retail banking ecosystem.  

Easy Settlement of Bills and Subscriptions 

Another functionality that your retail customers will actively look for in your mobile banking app is easy settlement of bills and subscriptions from other companies. They will perceive your app as a valuable asset if they can use it as a digital one-stop-shop to pay for utility bills, service subscriptions, and more.

Your modernization efforts for your mobile app development should also be geared towards strengthening your shared ecosystem with other merchants. It will serve your bank’s interests, as well as that of your partner merchants and your customers, to expand your mobile app’s reach and ensure seamless bill and subscription payment experiences. 

Straight-Through Loan Payments

If your customers are currently signed up for any of your bank’s consumer loan programs, they will definitely appreciate the chance to make their monthly loan payments through your mobile banking app. The benefits of enabling straight-through or even automatic loan amortization through your app are twofold. On the customer side, your app can notify borrowers when their loan payments are due and help them make their payments on time so as to avoid penalties. On your end, you can expect higher repayment rates and timelier collections of interest from your retail banking customers. 

It should be just as easy for your customers to repay their personal loans, auto loans, or mortgages from your mobile banking app as it is for them to make simple transactions like bank transfers. Add this functionality to your mobile banking app to improve your customers’ borrowing experiences and make your consumer loan programs more profitable. 

Immediate Access to Customer Service

Yet another functionality that should exist on your mobile banking app is round-the-clock customer service. Many of your retail customers will find it simpler and less tiresome to address their concerns directly on your app, as opposed to dialing your bank’s customer hotline and waiting for an operator. 

You can use your new banking technologies to incorporate 24/7 in-app customer service, whether from human staff or from chatbots. Try automating customer service for the most common banking concerns. For more complex concerns that require human staff, see how you can minimize any friction in the process of matching a customer with an agent. If your retail banking customers are assured that they can resolve their problems swiftly and efficiently on your app, you will definitely be able to secure their trust. 

Real-Time Security Alerts

No one wants to be on the receiving end of fraudulent activity, such as phishing or credit card fraud. If there’s any potential threat to their finances, your customers will want to know so that they can work with you to protect themselves. You can bolster your bank’s security system and safeguard your customers against financial crime by enabling real-time security alerts through your mobile app. The app can send your customers push notifications to verify any transactions that seem out of the ordinary and to alert them of any potential breaches. 

It can be a challenge to get retail customers to feel secure about threats of financial crime. But having real-time security measures on your app will assure them that their safety and privacy are important to your bank, and that you are doing your part to protect their accounts. 

Final Words

There’s no question about how valuable mobile banking apps are to the retail banking sector. If designed well and integrated smoothly into the bank’s parent technological infrastructure, a mobile app can heighten a bank’s value and increase its popularity among new retail banking customers. It’s up to you to invest in your mobile banking app development and guarantee its viability in the long term. Make a roadmap for developing your mobile banking app, and work on satisfying your most demanding retail customers through your digital channels.