We live in a digital world, and the pace of digital technology development is increasing every year. We are a mobile society that wants to do its daily business on the go. Mobile devices and applications rule our lives. We love apps, and we use them a lot!
But what do we demand from mobile apps?
There are many different apps created for various purposes. Through the apps on our smartphones, we communicate, deal with financial matters, listen to music, watch movies, shop, pay for public transport tickets, and sign up for a doctor’s appointment or a haircut.
The list is endless, and it can be assumed that whatever function we can think of is possible to implement in a mobile app.
Personalization, high quality UI, quick response time, convenience, and excellent customer experience are what we expect from any service we use.
Mobile banking app usage
Statistics show that everyone who owns a smartphone has at least one banking app installed. According to Insider Intelligence’s Mobile Banking survey, 89% of respondents use mobile banking daily, with 97% of Millenials, 91% of Gen Xers, and 79% of Baby Boomers seeing the benefits of these services. Every day more and more people are installing and using these apps. Banking apps are multi-generational and universally used.
In addition, more and more banking app features appear in banking applications. Apps are becoming powerful technologies that are no longer used to transfer money but increasingly include many additional functionalities (e.g., m-commerce module). 
Customers expect new mobile banking app features
Owning a mobile app is a must-have for many businesses today. Banks are no exception. To gain competitiveness and stay in the market, you should provide your customers with a well-designed and user-friendly banking app. If you are a bank owner, who has already jumped on the mobile app bandwagon, there is even more, you should do to hold a leading market position. Why? Because the customers’ needs are constantly growing. If you not only want to retain customers you already have but also want to attract new ones, allowing you to widen the stream of revenue, you should listen very carefully to your customers and follow the modern mobile development market trends.
What are must-have mobile banking features and which of them are essential to have a successful banking app?
We discuss them in this article.
What do people use banking apps for?
Diving into a world of mobile banking app features, let’s face the fact: nowadays, customers expect to do any financial task in a banking app. Visiting a brick-and-mortar bank’s branch to handle specific needs is a thing of the past. Most mobile banking apps allow users to access their bank account details, manage bank account information, and execute transfers directly from their smartphones or other mobile devices – anytime, anywhere. Having a “bank in a smartphone,” carrying it in your bag or pocket, gives a sense of control over your finances and the possibility of instant access to essential financial tools when needed.
Today modern mobile banking is rich with the latest mobile banking app features and offers benefits that cannot be reached through traditional banking methods.
Nevertheless, most customers often use mobile apps for daily financial activities like checking balances, monitoring their credit cards and bank account activities, viewing transaction histories, transferring funds, paying bills, scheduling payments, contacting customer service, taking loans, and many more.
The most desirable features of banking applications
Nowadays, almost every bank has a mobile app. At first glance, of course, the apps differ, but in fact, they have very similar functionalities. Banks must introduce further innovations and more features to stand out.
It is not a matter of implementing as many functionalities as possible into the app but selecting the best mobile banking app features based on customers’ needs and making them easy to reach and perform. All of that with respect to present and future market trends.
What exactly are the mobile banking app features people care about the most?
- Firstly, always listen to your customers – their needs will change and certainly grow. If you manage to stay ahead of their expectations and quickly introduce app features they demand, you have won the lottery. As a result, customers will stay with you, be loyal, and recommend you to friends.
If you wonder how to implement new functionalities on the fly, check out Finanteq’s solution – a no-code platform, Extentum. - Secondly, to make sure customers are willing to use the app regularly, it should be simple, easy to navigate, and intuitive.
Simplicity is the key – people hate complex solutions. Even more so when it comes to apps designed to make life easier, you only have a moment to grab customers’ attention. Otherwise, they will go to your competitor. Keep that in mind.
Ensure a smooth flow, and keep it simple enough to handle any banking task with a few clicks. Reduce customers’ effort. Provide the app with an incredible experience. - Last but not least: ensuring users’ safety is a non-negotiable issue among banking app features, especially in times of increasing cyberattack threats. When it comes to sensitive data and money, customers expect the best protection against hackers and cyber theft at both sign-in and financial transaction levels.
Make sure you do everything possible to guarantee the features that can reduce the risk of fraud and keep all your customers’ data well-protected.
Create safe mobile banking app features from the very first line of the code.
Today banks’ customers expect more features than before, and it is necessary to provide them with all of the above and more when developing a mobile banking application.
The ability to save money with a banking app
Today, providing a bank balance checking app is no longer enough. In addition to the classic options, banks can introduce other attractive solutions in mobile banking apps that your customers will love.
Wondering which in-app services are worth implementing? Read below.
- Automatic savings
Think about the automatic savings app feature. Setting up automatic savings allows your customers to set the desired amount they want to set aside at a specific time.
This simple way of saving is that periodically part of the money automatically goes into an account of customers’ choice, such as a savings account. It takes place when performing basic banking activities, for example, when paying with a card or making a transfer. The customer does not even notice how small amounts become large over some time. What an excellent way to save!
- Setting the goals
Another fantastic saving option regarding mobile banking app features is allowing users to set specific financial goals to be achieved in the app. By defining a purpose for which they want to save, they can track their progress in real-time. The customer must indicate what they want to save for (name their goal), specify how much they want to reach, and select the saving methods (e.g., automatic deposits, the transaction ends, percentage of receipts, self-deposits).
The application, with excellent saving banking app features, helps customers manage their money effectively with the habit of savings. That is what consumers expect from their financial institutions. And while it may seem obvious that mobile banking apps offer such features, however not all do.
If you do not already provide such a feature, do so before your competitors do – with us, you can build outstanding mobile banking.
Fast payments and online transfers
Quickly transferring money between accounts from any bank is becoming a must-have banking app feature.
The last few years (especially the covid pandemic time) have changed how people make payments for goods and services. Today there are a broad range of options if someone wants to transfer money online.
- What is the best money transfer app? Only with fast payments option
Fast payment services or real-time payments are part of the digital transformation triggered by rising customer expectations. How do these payments work? Quick payments make funds available on the receiver account instantly, 24/7/365.
The fast payments in 2021 broke all records – reaching 3.4 billion transactions. According to Pymnts, these payments will double in 2022 compared to 2021.
- Peer-to-Peer Payments (P2P)
With a person-to-person (P2P) transfer, bank customers can quickly and easily send money to someone else’s account just from a mobile app. What’s more, P2P systems such as PayPal, except for fast transfers, have the option that enables, e.g., convenient splitting up bills with friends and family in the restaurant or paying for products and all kinds of services. This means convenience in the full sense of the word.
- Pay from a banking app
It is a feature that allows paying online using the bank’s app. Using this method customer completes the payment with just a few simple steps. Having installed a banking app on a mobile device, customers need just select the “Pay by Bank app” option when paying online at checkout, choose a bank app from the list, log into the app, select the account to pay from and then tap the “Pay” button. That’s it!
- BLIK
Did you know that you can withdraw cash from ATM in Poland without a card, just using a standard mobile banking app that generates a unique 6-digit code? Instant payment, transfer to a phone number, and contactless payments have revolutionised the face of cashless payments in this country. Blik, a polish invention, is a highly convenient method of payment and the most popular mobile payment method in Poland. Over 90% of all Polish financial institutions’ customers have the BLIK option in all leading Polish banks’ mobile banking applications, and over 11.3 million users use it.
However, BLIK aims to expand its footprint beyond Poland. The company has just become a SWIFT member, allowing fast and automated international transfers.
“We have gained enormous knowledge, which we want to use also for development outside our country. We see a huge potential in (…) market, especially in the context of our action plans throughout the Euro area.” – says Dariusz Mazurkiewicz, President of the Polish Payment Standard, BLIK operator.
If you are an early adopter – do not hesitate to consider this type of solution to gain a competitive advantage.
To sum up: Digital payments are not just an option; they are a necessity. Perhaps it tops the requirement chart for most customers.
Do you want to have a feature-rich, best money transfer app? Develop your mobile banking with Finanteq.
Smartwatch compatibility
Did you ever wonder what will be the next step after smartphones? How will customers manage our lifestyle activities, as well as a bank account, in the future? Many banks worldwide offer mobile banking apps with more or less banking app features. However, as the internet of things is a new reality, maybe it is time for them to amaze their customers with a smartwatch banking app.
Being a smart player and introducing Finanteq’s Smartwatch Starter Kit, you will benefit more than the rest. Here are some reasons why banks should go for a smartwatch banking app.
Apple Pay/ Google Pay banking app compatibility
Why should you consider adding Apple Pay and Google Pay solution as your mobile banking app feature? Contactless payments are driving digital payment services. One of the types of such kind of payment system is e-wallets, for example, widely accepted Google Pay and Apple Pay. They enable users to make payments quickly, safely, and conveniently in stores, from apps, and on websites using the cards managed in the Apple Wallet or Google Account. All one needs is a smartphone or smartwatch.
Read here what advantages banks can gain when implementing Finanteq’s Google Pay and Apple Pay SDK into their mobile banking application.
What else can people do using use banking apps?
However, he clarifies: “This doesn’t mean they want to do everything through a mobile app. But if they want to do something through a mobile app, your bank had better support it in your app.”
As I mentioned earlier, modern apps should make customers’ lives easier.
Lifestyle management with a banking app
We can already find non-financial solutions (value-added services) in many banking applications. Lifestyle managing apps, so-called super wallets, give customers not only the possibility of handling financial tasks but also let them access some m-commerce services – all in one banking app. For example, it is already possible to pay for parking, and public transport, buy a concert ticket, exchange currency, or even book a hotel within the banking app.
Value-added services are a part of the mobile banking app world, and this trend tends to grow. Regarding banking app features, why not engage your customers more and enhance the mobile banking with lifestyle services offered by Finanteq’s solution SuperWallet while gaining an additional m-commerce revenue stream for your bank?
Smooth and easy payments for invoices
Optical character recognition (OCR) technology supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another solution that is gaining popularity regarding mobile banking app features. When making a bill or invoice payment, the customer does not have to enter the data manually, and the technology will do it for him – it will scan the invoice data automatically. Here you can check some use cases of OCR technology.
Finanteq’s OCR solution for banking: Invoice Payments improves customers’ experience by minimizing their effort.
Final thoughts
Using modern phones these days, people can access their finances from anywhere, anytime. It doesn’t get more convenient than that! Banks customers over time want to accomplish more and more financial tasks within a banking app. A feature-rich mobile banking application is no longer a nice-to-have, it already become a must-have in a constantly growing digital world. Banks which do not invest in mobile app features can be left behind in favor of those which make constant improvements in terms of UX/UI as well as features.
Any digital-ready bank should carry out detailed analyses and choose solutions wisely. They cannot ignore that excellent customer experience is no longer an option. It is a factor that can determine the bank’s survival or extinction.
