Mobile banking apps still a challenge

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Understanding your customer’s mobile banking behaviour and what they want out of their digital experience and tools is key to any bank wanting to compete in the digital revolution, where the pace of change is so rapid.

In February 2014, Nielsen confirmed that people use their mobile to access the web more than any other device, confirming that mobile really is first.

As mobile is one of the UK’s leading sectors, Adaptive Lab decided to focus its research of mobile banking apps from the financial industry to see how well customers are being served by their bank’s app.

Previous discussion around changes in consumer habits and behaviour has focussed largely on statistics around usage and attitudes. However we believe that this is the first full, comparative UX review of 5 top tier mobile banking apps, with the largest number of UK current account holders – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Natwest and Santander.

Both quantitative and qualitative research was carried out to support our report, including a survey of over 400 nationally representative UK consumers, an expert heuristic review, user interviews and observations, and analysis of thousands of app store reviews from the iOS app store and Google Play.

Our research showed that 1 in 3 UK customers use their banking app at least once a week to manage their finances. Remarkably none of the apps we reviewed scored more than 75% on either functionality or usability. Our report contains compelling stats and findings that highlight how much further the banking sector has to go to be considered as leaders in offering an excellent digital customer experience. The report presents a detailed assessment of the current landscape of mobile banking apps, focussing on both functionality and user experience.

A summary report can be downloaded for free here. This contains the high level results from our research, telling you which banks have the best apps and what makes them so good. It also includes new statistics showing just how big mobile banking has become.