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For any digital banking platform to work well, transaction data needs to go beyond a simple list of payments. After all, if you can’t do the most important thing right, the rest doesn’t really make sense. Modern customers expect their financial institutions to provide clear, contextual, and visually engaging transaction details that make understanding their finances simple. Let’s explore the crucial data points and features that shape top-tier transaction details in digital banking and transform raw data into meaningful financial insights.
Transaction histories have come a long way from the simple, text-heavy bank statements. Customers expect more than just a list of dates and amounts. They want intuitive, insightful, and visually engaging transaction details that allow them to quickly understand their spending habits. It's about empowering customers to take control of their finances through data that is accurate, contextual, and easy to navigate.
Visual elements like merchant logos bring a new layer of familiarity and ease to transaction histories. A purchase at Starbucks, for example, is instantly recognisable with the green siren logo beside the transaction. This simple addition reduces the cognitive load on users, helping them spot familiar merchants at a glance, which is particularly helpful for quickly reviewing multiple transactions from the same vendor. If a logo isn’t available, the next best thing is a category placeholder icon, such as a coffee cup icon for café purchases or a shopping bag for retail. This approach maintains the visual consistency of the transaction list and provides users with a basic categorisation that can aid in expense review and budgeting.
Recognizable merchant names like "Amazon Prime" instead of cryptic codes like "B2B PRIME*OK8ST8II5" are as important as logos. Clean merchant names are foundational to an intuitive banking experience. When users can identify merchants without confusion, it streamlines their understanding of expenses, reduces the time spent tracking down unclear charges, and increases overall trust in the bank.
Banks like Revolut and bunq have invested heavily in data enrichment tools to ensure accurate and user-friendly merchant labeling. By displaying merchant names in their complete and correct form, these platforms create a seamless and familiar experience for users who can easily differentiate between a one-time Amazon purchase and a recurring Amazon Prime subscription.
While traditional transaction records might only show a merchant name and amount, enriched data points like location, catcegory, merchant URLs, and subscription indicators add valuable context. For instance, if a customer sees a Starbucks charge with the location “Old Town Square, Prague” they can recall precisely when and where they made the purchase. This information is particularly helpful for travelers who want to ensure they’re not being double-charged or simply want a better memory cue for their transactions.
Including subscription indicators - such as “Recurring” for regular payments to services like Netflix - also helps users manage subscriptions effectively. By clearly identifying these recurring charges, banks enable customers to stay on top of their regular expenses and avoid forgotten or overlooked subscriptions. Not to mention the ability to cancel or manage the subscription in app as an option.
Many users rely heavily on bank transfers for everyday transactions, from splitting restaurant bills with friends to paying rent or making online purchases. Yet, without proper contextual data, these transactions can easily become lost, leading to confusion and potentially frustrating customer experiences. A clear and enriched bank transfer section helps users understand the "who," "when," "where," and "why" behind each transaction, giving them more reason to use banking app daily.
Direct deposits are also one of the easiest ways to ensure that customers use your account regularly. Make it easy for customers to move their payouts directly into your account and support this notion with a proper notification system to keep the users informed.
Banks that offer enriched transaction data enable next-level categorisation, one of the key pillars of any proper transaction details that allow users to view spending breakdowns in categories like “Dining,” “Groceries,” “Utilities,” and “Entertainment.” Take, for example, a user's monthly coffee runs: they might be categorised under "Dining" or, in a more granular setup, as "Cafés." This categorisation feature empowers users to track their habits, monitor spending in specific areas, and make informed budgeting decisions.
But what if the automatic categorisation is off? Offering users the option to recategorise transactions manually is a powerful way to let them personalise their financial tracking. For instance, someone might want to categorise a grocery store purchase under “Household Essentials” rather than “Groceries.” Banks like Revolut provide this flexibility meaning users can tailor their financial view to fit their unique lifestyles, making monthly summaries and budget planning more accurate.
PRO TIP!
Basic categorisation is better than no categorisation.
Moreover, some transactions simply don’t fit into users' regular monthly spending summaries. Allowing users to omit specific payments - such as one-time purchases or reimbursable expenses - creates a more precise monthly spending overview, free from occasional or atypical charges.
bunq's Data-Driven Insights: The Dutch neobank bunq enhances its transaction details by implementing payment data enrichment. This integration provides users with clear transaction overviews, including accurate merchant names, logos, GPS locations, and categorisation. Additionally, bunq introduced features like subscription overviews and CO₂ footprint tracking with EcoTrack, offering users comprehensive insights into their spending habits.
Revolut's User Experience: Revolut leverages product analytics to refine its user experience continually. By analysing user activity and engagement metrics, Revolut identifies trends and potential drop-off points, allowing for data-driven enhancements to its features. This approach ensures that users receive a personalised and efficient banking experience.
Swisscard's Enhanced Transaction Transparency: Swisscard, a major player in the Swiss financial market, has integrated advanced data enrichment to provide clearer and more detailed transaction information to its users while complying to Mastercard's AN4569 requirements. By leveraging these payment data, Swisscard offers accurate merchant information, transaction categorisation, and spending patterns. The platform also includes spending alerts and budgeting tools, empowering users to monitor their expenses and make informed financial decisions for a healthier habbits.
Recent studies emphasize the significant value enriched data brings to customer engagement and satisfaction. According to Deloitte's survey, 66% of respondents believe that banks offer identical services, and 75% think that banking products and services are the same across all banks, indicating the high demand for enriched data in today’s competitive digital banking environment to truly make a difference. Hight accuracy with intelligent transactional data means new layer of insight into your clients' daily lives and behaviours.
Research from McKinsey & Company has shown that banks can reduce customer support inquiries by 10-15% by offering clear, accurate transaction histories, as customers are less likely to need clarification on vague charges. By delivering clarity, personalisation, and visual appeal, banks can enhance the everyday banking experience, building trust and empowering customers to make informed financial decisions.
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Michal Maliarov
Senior insider
