Achievement-oriented banks of the 2020s provide their clients with an option to process financial transactions with a tap of a finger. To stay relevant and satisfy the evolving needs of mobile-first generations, financial institutions should reconsider their position on mobile banking.

According to the Mobile Banking Competitive Edge Study, 97% of millennials indicated that they use mobile banking. Moreover, Morgan Stanley Research states that 50% to 80% of smartphone-owning Gen Zers are already using online banking services. These audiences will become the key ones for banks. What are their expectations of banking apps? If you’re intended to provide the services in this domain, we highly recommend taking into account the following factors.

Banking App Security

Security is a cornerstone of creating the infrastructure for financial operations. Cybercriminals don’t sleep and prepare new schemes of fraud. To be ahead of them, you should collaborate with first-class technical specialists who will ensure your app security.

One of the most simple and effective ways to provide security is the allowance of complicated passwords only. Users should have clear instructions when creating a password for authentication. In addition to that, you may determine a period of time at the end of which users have to change their passwords, and provide multi-factor authentication.

To prevent data leakage, avoid storing excessive user information. Keep the minimum of geolocation, IP, smartphone data for further analysis. As for the rest, you can use special symbols called tokens to replace and encrypt information.

For certain clients, of course, these measures will seem annoying. Nonetheless, choosing between simplicity and safety gives a little choice. Just provide precise instructions and support for your clients in case of troubles — using an app on a hacked smartphone, fake app downloading, a hacked or forgotten password. Also pay special attention to banking web app security, if you’re going to make such a product.

Smooth User Experience

When using apps, people aim at various priorities — communications, planning, entertainment, information. In the case of a mobile banking app, the main objective is the financial management which must be quick and effective. Money is a serious subject though you can make the process of dealing with it more pleasant.

It is common practice to adhere to corporate style and colors when developing a software product. However, try staying minimalistic if you’re going to deal with the new wave of digital-savvy customers. Additional design elements distract users and make the transactions more time-consuming.

In-app messaging is another important element of UX. You can reach your customers either with the messages that appear on the screen and can be muted or with the messages that appear in a special app section. Both methods have their pros and cons so you should conduct split testing.

In addition to the minimalistic design do not overload your app’s functionality. Provide basic options like balance checking, transactions, customer support, check deposit. Excessive functionality hampers the work of an app and makes a user overthink. If you have plenty of options and don’t want to reject any of them, think of separate software products. For example, you may provide a web app for banking and a mobile one.

Interaction With Users

Millennials and Gen Zers highly appreciate personalization and individual approach. It’s in your best interest to be like that since this is the way to customer loyalty and trust.
Onboarding communication is the key part. When customers decide to use your products, you should convince them of your care and attention. That’s why you should always explain all the actions. When demanding personal information, make clear how you’re going to use it. If you have several channels, make sure that a user can access all of them. The key idea is to stay transparent and attentive.

Do not forget about the options of artificial intelligence. Take more time to create a virtual assistant and set a chatbot. These solutions will save you tons of time and suit the customers preferring to avoid telephone conversations.
Make your app more accessible by providing trials. This step will mean you welcome new users and trust them without any commitments. Such an onboarding option doesn’t suit all banking products but you still should know about it.

Final Word

As in any field of app development of the 2020s, banking apps should apply a customer-centric approach and effective service. However, the key factor to consider is data security and the speed of transactions. You may save on certain extra options but not on developers. Such investments will let you stay on the same page with sophisticated customers and protect them from fraud.

If you have any questions or comments about banking software, we are open to discussion.