4 basic building blocks for a perfect banking app
Ondřej Slivka
data enrichmenthow toUX
4 minute readWhen it comes to banking, forget apps as an afterthought – they’re essential for providing customers with quick, secure and seamless experiences. A great banking app can be the difference between a loyal customer for life or one who switches banks. But what makes the perfect banking app?
Here are four key building blocks that any good financial technology should include to create a successful digital platform. Keep reading to find out how you can leverage these pillars of success in your own bank’s mobile application strategy!
1. The basics – a user interface that is easy to navigate
A perfect banking app interface should be designed with UX in mind, providing users with an easy, seamless experience. It should be intuitive to use, featuring all the key functions in clearly labelled categories and no complicated or unnecessary steps. Users should have easy access to essential banking details, such as account balances, transaction histories and spending analysis, without needing to re-enter information or make a number of confusing clicks. Gone are the times when the transaction history in your banking app was hard to read strings of characters, with no way of knowing whether or not you actually made the transaction. Integrating security measures for customer accounts is also necessary for a banking app interface that stands out from the crowd. This includes an easy way to identify fraudulent transactions as well. When these core components come together in an app design that is clean and visually appealing, customers reap the benefits of a perfect UX experience.
2. Security features that keep your information safe
Banking security is of utmost importance in this technological age. Banking apps must have security protocols in place to protect user data and transactions from malware, phishing threats, and unauthorised access. With multiple devices involved in the chain of transactions, security protocols should be designed for different layers and endpoints. The security protocols must include strong encryption for data at rest, active user verification through multi-factor authentication methods such as biometrics and dynamic passwords for user accounts, encryption during transit, application security checks like dynamic white box testing, security monitoring to detect suspicious activities from malicious actors, early detection systems to alert authorities of any security breaches and a comprehensive security policy outlining the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. More so, the perfect app must look trustworthy to the clients as well. This can be done by providing enough information about past transactions, as well as a full disclaimer about the security of the user data. GPS location and human-readable merchant names can give users a well-deserved sense of trust.
3. A wide range of features to meet all of the client’s banking needs
Banking apps can provide a valuable service for their customers by allowing them to categorize and track their spending, set budgeting goals, and reduce their ecological footprint. They can make the whole banking experience much smoother and simpler by allowing users to monitor their accounts from anywhere in the world. From tracking payments to categorizing purchases into individual spending categories, users can get a better picture of how they manage their finances and make better financial decisions as a result. Budgeting features also give customers more insight into how much money they should be saving or allocating towards certain categories. Finally, by awarding certificates or points for sustainable or charitable behaviours, banking apps could help promote action-oriented approaches that contribute positively to global ecology and society as a whole. For many of these features, banks will need data, like the CO2 footprint, for example. These can be provided by a third-party solution along with other enrichment.
4. A rewards program to earn bonuses for using the app
A perfect banking rewards program should appeal to customers and make them feel appreciated. It should offer a variety of discount incentives that offer customers tangible savings, such as cashback, on goods and services they use the most. Customers should be able to benefit from points earned over time, enabling them to save more on their purchases in the long term. Furthermore, an ideal rewards program should include special offers, exclusive access to lifestyle services and opportunities for members to build up their credits for travel or investments. Through effective discount incentives which meet the needs of customers, a perfect rewards program can help foster customer loyalty and create a truly satisfying banking experience. A well-rounded rewards program is difficult to build and run. To make it easier for both banks and merchants, there are well-established services that can provide the offers in an affordable and sustainable way.
It can be difficult to build the ideal banking app, but it is worth taking the time to make one that perfectly suits your clients’ needs. The perfect app will have an easy-to-navigate interface and many features tailored to all their banking needs. It should also be secure and maybe even offer rewards to loyal customers. With so many options available, it is important to take the time to build a product your clients will, ideally, love. Or, at the very least, won’t hate using.
