Which mobile banking apps are winning?

More and more, banking customers expect and demand better digital experiences. Banking apps need to make financial transactions and account management as quick and easy as possible. As expectations continue to grow, banking app UX (user experience) is a key area of focus to stay competitive.

Mobile banking apps are an increasingly crucial frontline for banks.

More than half of consumers have used a mobile banking app in the last few months (source: Moments of Truth NPS Benchmarking which included c.30,000 consumers). Of those, most use their app at least weekly.

Aside from their frequent use, apps are also the most important channel in driving recommendation for a financial service provider. This is compared to using online (browser) banking, visiting a high street branch or contact by telephone.

Our studies show a significant difference between app quality. Mobile banking app NPS (Net Promoter Score) has a c.70+ NPS swing between the strongest performing provider and the weakest. And it’s the neobanks (or ‘challenger banks’) who topped the benchmark throughout 2019.

Our new benchmarking programme focussed on Mobile Banking App CX (customer experience) explores UK apps in much greater detail. The dataset allows subscribers to assess customer perception and the app experience metrics on a range of features. Importantly, we can see how this links to loyalty and wider brand perceptions.

Here’s a flavour of some of the brand benchmarking information you can gain from subscribing to our Mobile Banking App CX programme:

Respondents were asked "Which, if any, of the following would you say best describes your main current account provider?"

Challenger banks are widely regarded as more innovative compared to traditional providers. Furthermore, consumers feel these newcomer banks are more customer-focussed, secure and good value. Their mobile banking apps are more highly rated for their ease of login, appealing design and navigation. Consumers with these challenger mobile apps are also much more likely to strongly agree that the experience is ‘so good they’d talk about it to others’.

So, our latest research further demonstrates the community of enthusiasts that increasingly exist among the likes of Monzo, Starling and other neobanks. Check out our recent paper, ‘The Secret of Optimising your NPS’, for more on this topic.

So why should all this matter? If one of your KPIs is increasing positive customer sentiment and loyalty for your bank in 2020, you’ll need to know what makes the biggest impact on CSAT and NPS. It’s the mobile banking app. In the race for market share, having access to data and insight on this is crucial. If you are interested, feel free to download the factsheet by filling in the form below, or speak to me (karen.troubridge@bva-bdrc.com) or Mark (mark.long@bva-bdrc.com). We'd also be very pleased to discuss any user testing requirements you may have.