Modern customers expect service providers to have a strong digital presence and banks are no exception. According to Business Insider, about 89% of bank account holders in America use mobile banking to manage their accounts. Moreover, only 20% of clients would prefer to visit a physical branch of their bank in order to complete a certain transaction or obtain information while the remaining 80% would prefer digital banking.
These numbers make it clear that online banking has become an essential part of the industry. Hence, in order to retain your clients and keep a competitive advantage, one has to have a mobile banking application. And some of the most important things to keep in mind about it is the functionality of such an app and its most essential features.
Secure authentication and login
The top priority of any banking application is its security since there is a great amount of sensitive data being processed. Hence, one of the most important features of a banking app is secure login and high-level authentication.
In general, a banking application usually requires a password from a user in order to log in but you can also add biometric authentication. Note though that even biometric authentication can be bypassed by hackers. So in order to enhance the security, you can do the following:
- Store all passwords and PINs either encrypted or hashed. Also, it is highly recommended not to store them in the source code but on a server instead.
- For biometric authentication, store PINs in the verified storage of a specific platform (either Keychain for iOS or Keystore for Android).
- Add SMS confirmation to the log-in.
- Limit the number of login attempts.
- Always make sure to start a new session every time.
Chatbots and customer support
Even though customers prefer digital banking over traditional one, they still need customer support. In a banking app, you can implement it with the help of chatbots.
Chatbots have become immensely popular and are being used across all industries. The main benefit of chatbots is speed and quality of services: when a customer makes an inquiry, the chatbot immediately provides the needed information. This greatly contributes to user satisfaction as customers do not have to wait for a long time to obtain necessary information. Another advantage of having a chatbot implemented in your banking app is that it can be capable of performing simple operations and thus will serve as a personal assistant.
Note though that chatbots are recommended but not obligatory. Either you decide to implement one or not, it is essential to have a few ways to provide support service to your clients. It may be an option to dial the bank right from the app or integration with messengers, depending on what method of contact your customers prefer. Just don’t underestimate the importance of providing efficient customer service and support to your clients, especially if your application is feature-rich and has complex navigation.
Account management
The main idea behind a banking app is to enable users to manage their accounts from any place and any time – hence, it is essential to provide efficient account management.
A user’s account is usually the core of a banking app and its management includes the following options:
- Display of all active and inactive accounts;
- Balance check;
- Display of transaction history;
- Funds transfer;
- Saved payments and “quick payments”;
- Display of available transactions.
Of course, this is not the whole list and there may be many more functions available. Just remember that the main idea is to let a user fully control their bank account from an app without the need to contact bank representatives for assistance.
An integrated map
One more important feature of any banking application is an integrated map. This map usually shows ATMs and bank offices within a chosen area and a user can filter his search by choosing specific filters.
Why is an integrated map so important? First, it allows users to quickly identify what’s the nearest ATM or a bank office and it takes a few seconds only. Second, it usually shows not only the ATMs and offices but also their working hours and other important information that a user might need. In this way, an integrated map saves a lot of user’s time and allows to quickly find all needed information without the need to contact a bank representative.
QR code payments
As stated above, the main idea behind a banking app is convenience and speed. And QR code payments perfectly fit into this description by allowing users to perform financial transactions by simply scanning the code.
While the QR code technology has been around for quite a while, quite a few banking apps have this feature implemented. However, QR code payments are highly efficient due to their speed and simplicity. Plus, this technology does not require a massive investment of resources and finances so every bank should consider implementing it.
Summing up
When working on a banking application, it is important to keep in mind that its main focus should be usability, simplicity, and accessibility of operations. Unlike traditional banking, mobile banking is all about speed and user-friendliness so make sure your application can be easily navigated and managed. And don’t forget to invest some time into finding a good service provider as the future success and performance of an application will depend solely on how well developers will carry out the project.
