The financial services industry is changing. In addition to improving Bank personnel productivity with Apps, Banks are extending Customer self-serve capabilities with new Mobile Services, reducing tellers, downsizing / changing layouts / closing branches, etc. An important reason for this is that increasingly people want to manage their affairs, including finances, online rather than making visits to a bank. Because of this, instead of having people come to a brick and mortar location, more banks are driving attention to their Apps. With this, Modern Banking Apps provide users with many capabilities of traditional banking for the on-line, real-time, all-the-time world of mobile. The Apps below are examples of how money transfers, bill paying, etc. benefits from the ” convenience of mobile ” and the ” power of Apps “.
1. Bank of America
The Bank of America Mobile App is intended to be integral on the home screen for a Customer. The B of A App provides all the functionality you would find on a banking website – but redesigned for mobile. Pay bills, set up money transfers, order new checks, turn on notification alerts, deposit checks, etc. – with your smartphone camera. In addition, the B of A App lets iPhone users login with fingerprint ID (if they choose) and has an ATM locator tool, which is perfect for folks on the go looking to grab cash fast. The Bank of America is also working on extending mobile payments capabilities into their App to enable Android users with built-in NFC chips to simply wave their smartphone at a pay terminal to make a purchase.
2. Chase
The Chase banking App provides many appealing capabilities for Customers including – viewing financial transactions, transfer money with a few taps, cash checks via camera, set up custom alerts, and much more. This is in conjunction with the strategy to enable users to manage many of their banking services and their various accounts – from bank accounts and loans to credit and debit cards, etc. – in one spot. And as people utilize the phones more, Apps like these improve the Customer experience by enabling users to perform financial tasks when they want, how they want -without a laptop, seeing a teller, etc.
3. Capital One
Capital One is another big bank and credit issuer with an impressive Mobile App that enables people to manage their CapOne accounts with the swipe of a finger. As with the B of A and the Chase App, Capital One provides all the features you would expect to find in an online Banking App from cashing checks to transferring money. One unique feature Capital One includes is the ability to swipe to identify yourself, (optional of course) rather than type in a username and password. This is an especially handy feature for mobile users, as typing in user names and detailed passwords can be cumbersome on touch keyboards. Users also have the ability to view detailed transaction information from within the App, complete with a transaction pin map and contact info. Capital One has been working hard to bring banking into the 21st century, remaking many brick and mortar branches into cozy Capital One 360 Cafes, experimenting with how to best engage customers in a time when visiting a physical bank branch is a rare event for the average user.
4. Venmo
The Venmo a financial App enables people to easily send each other money online – with money held in a user’s online Venmo wallet until the user sends their money to their bank account. While there was initial reservations to sending money via an App, Venmo has found enormous success with millennials. As a result in 2014 Venmo was acquired by PayPal, and in January of 2016 they had their first month handling $1 billion in transactions. Further Vemo has reached the coveted verb status in its market (ie: “I’ll Venmo you later, thanks for picking up those 4 gin & tonics!”). Venmo knows its young, tech-savvy audience and actually manages to turn IOUs into social activity, allowing users to post notifications of their payments publically or privately. Importantly, Venmo has transformed how many mobile users settle tabs with their friends – from rent and concert tickets to dinner and drinks.