MOBILE APPS FOR BANKING 2016 - MyPrivateBanking - MyPrivateBanking... · 6.8 MANY BANKS SURPRISE WITH A THOROUGH DIGITAL STRATEGY 47 ... challenger banks or neo-banks, ... 50 3 9

MOBILE APPS FOR

BANKING 2016

TECH SAVVY CLIENTS LET DOWN BY

SHORTCOMINGS

Benchmarking – Ranking – Recommendations

www.MyPrivateBanking.com

September 2016

5th edition

Carmela Melone

Analyst

Report Extract

Original Report with 179 pages

Plus comprehensive data appendix

MOBILE APPS FOR BANKING 2016 │ 2

CONTENT

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6

2.0 RANKING TABLE 9

3.0 METHODOLOGY 11

3.1 SELECTION OF BANKS AND APPS 11

3.2 THE CRITERIA 12

4.0 WHAT IT TAKES IN 2016 TO EXCITE MOBILE BANKING

CLIENTS – A STRATEGIC GUIDE 21

4.1 VISUALIZATIONS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TOOLS ARE THE

NEW STANDARD 23

4.2 PAYMENT ADD-ONS: IT’S ALL ABOUT CONVENIENCE 27

4.3 BANKS ARE NUTS ABOUT PEEK BALANCE FEATURES 28

4.4 DESIGN, NAVIGATION, AND UX DETERMINE AN APP’S SUCCESS 28

4.5 WHY COPING WITH MOBILE APP SECURITY IS SUCH A CHALLENGE 29

4.6 HOW TO DEAL WITH INCREASING COMPETITION FUELED BY DIGITAL

(CHALLENGER) BANKS 30

5.0 DIGITAL CHALLENGER BANKS – A QUICKLY GROWING

THREAT FOR RETAIL BANKS? 31

5.1 MOBILE-ONLY VS. TRADITIONAL: WHERE ARE THE COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGES? 31

6.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 39

6.1 IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT PAYMENTS 39

6.2 SMARTWATCH APPS CATCH UP WITH WINDOWS AND BLACKBERRY

COVERAGE 40

6.3 VISUAL ELEMENTS SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF 41

6.4 THE HIDDEN RISK: CONVENIENCE TRUMPS SECURITY 43

6.5 BANKS ARE SLOWLY IMPROVING THEIR APP CONTENT 44

6.6 MOST BANKS FAIL TO TURN THEIR APPS INTO A COMMUNICATION TOOL 45

6.7 BANKING APPS LACK INNOVATION AND AUTOMATION 46

6.8 MANY BANKS SURPRISE WITH A THOROUGH DIGITAL STRATEGY 47

6.9 GOOD APPS FOCUS ON MORE THAN JUST PAYMENTS 48

6.10 APPLE WATCH APPS 51


7.0 TOP THREE STAND-ALONE APPS 56

8.0 PROFILES 57

8.1 ABN AMRO 57

8.2 ANZ 60

8.3 BANK OF AMERICA 63

8.4 BARCLAYS 66

8.5 BBVA 69

8.6 BMO 72

8.7 BNP PARIBAS 75

8.8 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 78

8.9 CAPITAL ONE 81

8.10 CHASE 84

8.11 CIBC 87

8.12 CITIBANK 90

8.13 COMMERZBANK 93

8.14 CREDIT SUISSE 96

8.15 DANSKE BANK 99

8.16 DBS 102

8.17 DEUTSCHE BANK 105

8.18 FNB 108

8.19 HSBC 111

8.20 ING 114

8.21 KBC 117

8.22 NAB 120

8.23 NATIONWIDE 123

8.24 NATWEST 126

8.25 PNC 129

8.26 RBC 132

8.27 SANTANDER 135

8.28 SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE 138

8.29 STANDARD CHARTERED 141

8.30 TD BANK 144

8.31 U.S. BANK 147

8.32 UBS 150

8.33 UNICREDIT 153

8.34 WELLS FARGO 156

8.35 WESTPAC 159


9.0 BEST PRACTICES: THE BEST MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURES 162

9.1 PAYMENT SOLUTIONS 162

XXX – Chat and pay simultaneously 162

XXX – Also with great Apple Watch features 163

XXX – Payment app with value-added features 164

9.2 APPS THAT ADD TO FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE 165

XXX – Financial education with a fun factor 165

XXX – Will you be ready to retire? Find out! 166

9.3 WHEN BANKING CLIENTS PARTICIPATE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 167

XXX – Invites clients to join them in building apps from scratch 167

XXX – A sneak peek of the new version 168

9.4 MORTGAGE APPS AND TOOLS 169

XXX – Automated real estate advice 169

XXX – Leveraging augmented reality 170

9.5 APPS THAT ENABLE CLIENTS TO CONTROL AND IMPROVE THEIR SPENDING BEHAVIOR 171

XXX – Never lose track of expenses 171

XXX – A handy overview thanks to spending categories 172

XXX – Gives clients full control of their money 173

XXX – Keep clients on track with their savings 174

XXX– Continuous monitoring of clients’ finances 175

9.6 BANKING APPS WITH OUTSTANDING CONTACT AND ADVICE FEATURES 176

XXX – Smart customer support line 176

XXX – Multichannel communication 177

AUTHORS 178

DISCLAIMER 179

ORDER THE REPORT HERE

http://www.myprivatebanking.com/Report/Research-Report---Mobile-Apps-for-Banking-2016


TABLE OF CHARTS

Ranking table 10

Table: List of criteria and types of apps that can score 18

Chart: Criteria weighting 2016 19

Chart: Comparison of criteria category weightings (2015 vs. 2016) 19

Chart: Global mobile data traffic from 2015 to 2020 21

Main disruptors of mobile banking technology 22

Accounts list vs. graphical view of accounts 23

Transaction history: detailed list vs. history chart 23

Credit card account information only vs. graphical presentation 24

Screenshots Wally iOS app 25

Screenshots Mint 26

Chart: Total revenue of global mobile payment market 2015-2019 27

DBS digibank! Slide and Hold feature 28

Screenshots app store comments 29

Table: Key data N26 32

Table: Key data Atom Bank 33

Table: Key data digibank! by DBS 34

Table: Key data Simple – Better Banking 35

Table: Key data Monzo by Mondo 36

Table: Key data Monese 37

Chart: criteria coverage traditional vs. digital banks 38

Chart: Overall criteria coverage 2016 vs. 2015 39

Chart: Availability of mobile apps 40

Chart: Core functions for clients 41

Chart: Add-ons for clients 41

Chart: Number of apps offering payment add-ons 42

Chart: Security and privacy 43

Chart: Customer retention and marketing 44

Chart: Contact and finding the bank 45

Chart: Technical features and support 46

Chart: Strategy and navigation 47

Heat map of the banks’ performance in the main categories 48

Chart: Top 5 banks vs. average results 49

Banks that improved remarkably: CIBC, UniCredit, ANZ, FNB, and UBS 50

Chart: Apple Watch banking app providers – launch dates 51

Table: Apple Watch banking apps assessment 54

BNP Paribas Mes Comptes on the Apple Watch 55

Deutsche Bank Meine Bank on the Apple Watch 55

Table: Top three stand-alone banking apps 56


SUMMARY

1.0 SUMMARY

>> While mobile devices continue their

triumphant advance in the digital arena, the

world’s leading retail banks are struggling to

keep up with the fast-paced development of

the innovative digital features their

customers demand. This innovation gap

poses significant risks for established

financial players as they face increased

pressure from new digital challenger banks

and a customer generation of digital natives

that quickly lose patience when their digital

needs are not met. <<

These are key findings of the report that analyzes

and ranks, for the fifth year running, the mobile

apps of 35 leading retail banks worldwide and,

where applicable, the Apple Watch apps. In total,

113 smartphone and tablet apps were assessed

according to 49 criteria and 27 Apple Watch apps

were evaluated according to 11 main functions. The

report benchmarks, among others, core functions

for customers; functional add-ons; content and

features for marketing and strategy and navigation.

The apps offered by six digital challenger banks

were evaluated as well.

The research data reveal that most banks have a

solid track record for many of the must-have

features, such as account overview (79% of

maximum possible benchmarking points) and

convenient payment methods (88%). However,

there is a pronounced lack when it comes to

innovative features like chat and messaging

functions (29% of the maximum points), interactive

content to help and educate customers (31%) and

digital tools to help customers get a grasp on their

personal finances (41%). The report details the

strengths and weaknesses for all relevant features

and functionalities for the banking sector overall

and separately for each analyzed bank.

MAJORITY OF RETAIL BANKS AT RISK OF

LOSING OUT TO DIGITAL CHALLENGER

BANKS

The majority of retail banks are not responding

adequately to their target clients’ digital

expectations, which are driven by the strong trends

detailed in the reports. For example, banking clients

are switching from being passive consumers of

account information to actively managing their

personal finances through powerful mobile apps.

Banks must respond effectively to these trends and

the report outlines how they should adapt their

mobile app offerings accordingly.

At present, the banking sector shows in many

respects an inability to innovate and catch up with

society’s wider trends of digital innovation. This is

an alarming development, as gaps and

shortcomings in retail banking apps expose a clear

risk that new nimble competitors, so-called digital

challenger banks or neo-banks, will take advantage

of the established players’ weakness and make

substantial inroads – particularly with the Millennial

Generation. The report profiles seven digital

challenger banks and explains which innovations

are required to appeal to this new generation of

clients.

BNP PARIBAS, SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE, UBS

AND DEUTSCHE BANK TOP OVERALL

RANKING

The top performers in our analysis continue to

enhance and evolve their mobile apps in an effort

to keep pace with new technologies and the steadily

rising bar of client expectations. This year’s winner

in MyPrivateBanking’s benchmarking is again BNP

Paribas with 70 points out of 85. Three banks share

the second rank this year: Société Générale, UBS

and Deutsche Bank, each of which achieved 68 out

of 85 possible points. The fifth rank goes to DBS (66

out of 85 points).


SUMMARY

TOP 5 MOBILE APPS OFFERINGS FOR RETAIL

BANKING 2016

RANK 2016 BANK TOTAL POINTS

(MAX. 85)

1 BNP Paribas 70

2 Société Générale

68

2 UBS 68

2 Deutsche Bank

68

5 DBS 66

Full rankings of the 35 wealth managers’ mobile app

offerings and their performance for each of the 49

evaluation criteria are detailed in the report and in

a comprehensive data appendix. In addition, the

results for each wealth manager are summarized in

individual profiles, including specific

recommendations for improving their mobile apps.

Six digital challenger banks’ offerings were

evaluated along the same criteria.

Banks should start today to take critical action in

respect of their mobile app portfolio to prevent new

competitors from gaining further inroads and meet

fast-changing digital consumer needs. It is crucial to

provide a seamless customer journey; tools that

give clients the power to manage their finances and

measures that make sure clients love to use the

apps. The best mobile banking app is worth nothing

if clients don’t want to use it due to inferior

usability, lots of web-based content, slow and

cumbersome navigation and non-optimized

content copied from the bank’s websites.


RANKING TABLE

2.0 RANKING TABLE

RA

NK

BA

NK

TO

TA

L P

OIN

TS

AV

AIL

AB

ILIT

Y O

F M

OB

ILE

AP

PS

(M

AX

. 4)

CO

RE

FU

NC

TIO

NS

(MA

X.

15)

AD

D-O

NS

(MA

X.

5)

SE

CU

RIT

Y A

ND

PR

IVA

CY

(MA

X.

7)

CU

ST

OM

ER

RE

TE

NT

ION

AN

D M

AR

KE

TIN

G

(MA

X.

14)

CO

NT

AC

T O

PT

ION

S

(MA

X.

8)

TE

CH

NIC

AL F

EA

TU

RE

S

AN

D S

UP

PO

RT

(M

AX

. 18)

ST

RA

TE

GY

AN

D

NA

VIG

AT

ION

(MA

X:

12)

BE

ST

PR

AC

TIC

ES

(MA

X.

2)

1 BNP Paribas 70 … … … … … … … … …

2 UBS 68 … … … … … … … … …

2 Société Générale

68 … … … … … … … … …

2 Deutsche Bank

68 … … … … … … … … …

5 DBS 66 … … … … … … … … …

6 … 63 4 10 4 5 8 6 12 12 2

6 … 63 4 10 5 5 11 3 13 10 2

8 … 62 4 11 5 5 10 5 10 10 2

9 … 59 4 10 4 5 6 6 10 12 2

10 … 58 4 13 5 5 7 4 10 8 2

10 … 58 4 12 5 6 8 3 10 10 0

10 … 58 4 12 5 3 10 6 8 9 1

10 … 58 3 9 5 4 10 8 8 10 1

14 … 57 4 9 5 3 7 7 12 9 1

15 … 56 3 14 3 5 8 3 9 10 1

15 … 56 4 13 3 4 6 5 9 10 2


RANKING TABLE

RA

NK

BA

NK

TO

TA

L P

OIN

TS

AV

AIL

AB

ILIT

Y O

F

MO

BIL

E A

PP

S

(MA

X.

4)

CO

RE

FU

NC

TIO

NS

(MA

X.

15)

AD

D-O

NS

(MA

X.

5)

SE

CU

RIT

Y A

ND

PR

IVA

CY

(M

AX

. 7)

CU

ST

OM

ER

RE

TE

NT

ION

AN

D

MA

RK

ET

ING

(MA

X.

14)

CO

NT

AC

T O

PT

ION

S

(MA

X.

8)

TE

CH

NIC

AL

FE

AT

UR

ES

AN

D

SU

PP

OR

T

(MA

X.

18)

ST

RA

TE

GY

AN

D

NA

VIG

AT

ION

(MA

X:

12)

BE

ST

PR

AC

TIC

ES

(MA

X.

2)

17 … 55 3 10 5 6 9 4 10 7 1

17 … 55 4 11 4 6 7 2 11 9 1

19 … 54 4 8 4 3 8 5 11 9 2

20 … 53 4 8 5 5 6 3 12 8 2

21 … 52 3 6 4 4 8 4 11 10 2

22 … 51 4 10 4 5 4 3 11 9 1

22 … 51 4 9 4 6 5 3 10 9 1

24 … 50 4 7 3 6 8 3 9 9 1

24 … 50 3 9 5 6 5 3 12 6 1

26 … 49 3 12 4 5 3 2 10 9 1

26 … 49 3 11 3 4 5 3 8 10 2

28 … 47 4 7 4 4 5 1 12 9 1

29 … 44 4 7 4 4 6 1 9 8 1

30 … 43 1 7 1 3 5 4 10 11 1

30 … 43 4 5 4 3 4 4 8 11 0

32 … 40 3 5 3 6 3 2 12 6 0

33 … 36 3 3 2 7 4 2 8 6 1

34 … 35 2 5 2 4 2 4 10 6 0

35 … 32 3 5 3 4 2 0 9 6 0

AVERAGE POINTS

53.6 3.5 9.5 4.0 4.9 7.0 3.9 10.3 9.3 1.3

Ranking table


METHODOLOGY

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 SELECTION OF BANKS AND APPS

In this fifth edition of our yearly benchmarking

report evaluating the world’s leading banking apps,

we analyze 113 apps offered by 35 banks to the

retail banking client segment. With the aim of

providing global coverage to take in important

trends around the world, the selection process

considers the banks’ assets under management as

well as their main countries of operation.

Apps that specifically target wealth management

clients were not included in this report, as we

released a dedicated study in May this year (‘Mobile

Apps for Wealth Management 2016’).

(… more in full report)

3.2 THE CRITERIA

The criteria applied to the 113 apps are spread over

nine major areas, including detailed items that

mirror the latest trends and requirements in terms

of mobile app technology and banking:

AVAILABILITY OF MOBILE APPS (MAXIMUM 4

POINTS)


CORE FUNCTIONS FOR CLIENTS (MAXIMUM

15 POINTS)


ADD-ONS FOR CLIENTS (MAXIMUM 5 POINTS)


SECURITY AND PRIVACY (MAXIMUM 7

POINTS)


CUSTOMER RETENTION AND MARKETING

(MAXIMUM 14 POINTS)


CONTACT AND FINDING THE BANK (MAXIMUM

8 POINTS)


TECHNICAL FEATURES AND SUPPORT

(MAXIMUM 18 POINTS)


STRATEGY AND NAVIGATION (MAXIMUM 12

POINTS)


BEST PRACTICES (MAXIMUM 2 POINTS)


http://www.myprivatebanking.com/Report/mobile-apps-for-wealth-management-report-2016-

http://www.myprivatebanking.com/Report/mobile-apps-for-wealth-management-report-2016-


WHAT IT TAKES IN 2016 TO EXCITE MOBILE BANKING CLIENTS – A

STRATEGIC GUIDE

4.0 WHAT IT TAKES IN 2016 TO

EXCITE MOBILE BANKING

CLIENTS – A STRATEGIC

GUIDE

The last ten years have seen great progress in terms

of general mobile functionality. For the last five

years, our report has tracked the performance of

retail banks’ mobile apps against a backdrop of

rapid technology evolution and significant shifts in

user behaviors, especially in relation to mobile

devices. Global mobile data traffic is increasing

rapidly and is not expected to slow down in the

coming years.

When Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007, the

mobile app market exploded and banking

applications targeting retail clients soon appeared

on the market. Since then a lot of progress has been

made in digital banking. Whereas back in the early

2000s mobile banking apps had very limited

features and content, today banks only stand out

from their competitors if they strive for best-of-

breed usability, innovation and functionality.



DIGITAL CHALLENGER BANKS – A QUICKLY GROWING THREAT FOR

RETAIL BANKS?

5.0 DIGITAL CHALLENGER

BANKS – A QUICKLY

GROWING THREAT FOR

RETAIL BANKS?

A new type of bank is invading the financial provider

market to compete with long-established

institutions and their mobile offerings. The

differentiating element of challenger banks is that

their entire range of banking services is offered via

digital channels only, without being backed up by an

established financial provider. In order to compare

the mobile apps of the digital or challenger banks

with those offered by the leading retail banks

worldwide we applied the same criteria to the new

players’ apps. We are wondering whether this new

way to bank will constitute a real threat to

traditional players. The benefits of these mobile-

only banks are obvious:

(… more in full report pages 31 to 38)


SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

6.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Comparing the performances of the banks included

in the 2015 and the current edition of our

benchmarking report, it is obvious that they are

struggling with some major trends while adapting to

others pretty well. Some of the banks that are

regularly covered in this benchmark study came up

with completely re-designed core apps that adapt

to the latest design and navigation trends, which is

a promising development.



TOP THREE STAND-ALONE APPS

7.0 TOP THREE STAND-ALONE

APPS

(… more in full report page 56)


PROFILES

8.0 PROFILES



BEST PRACTICES: THE BEST MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURES

9.0 BEST PRACTICES: THE

BEST MOBILE APPLICATION

FEATURES

In this report we present the most outstanding

features, content and design identified in the

course of our most recent analysis of 113 mobile

apps from the world’s leading retail banks.

Following this year’s main trends, this chapter

covers noteworthy examples of innovative payment

options, particularly entertaining tools that add to

clients’ education, terrific ways to include clients in

the app development process, innovative

technology implementation such as automated

advice and augmented reality, personal financial

management tools, and excellent support and

contact features.



AUTHORS

AUTHORS

Steffen Binder, Managing Director and co-founder of MyPrivateBanking Research.

Steffen is Head of Research and oversees the research agenda and analyst teams.

He is responsible for creating and developing powerful concepts and relevant

content to help our clients navigate a rapidly changing digital environment. As

a regular speaker at finance and technology industry events around the globe,

Steffen is frequently quoted by leading business media such as the Wall Street

Journal, Handelsblatt and the Financial Times. Prior to this, Steffen was Managing

Director of Forrester Germany, Switzerland and Austria. He came to Forrester

through its acquisition of Forit GmbH, a leading European technology research

company, of which he was also a co-founder. Prior to that, Steffen was a partner at Monitor Company (Strategy

Consulting). He holds Master’s Degrees in Organizational Behavior from Rutgers University (USA) and in Public

Administration from the University of Konstanz (Germany).

Carmela Melone, Analyst, specializes in research in the fields of social media for

wealth management and mobile apps for financial advisors. Her specific areas of

interest are in software benchmarking, channel strategy and online security.

Prior to this, she worked at an exchange platform for intellectual property rights,

responsible for the digital media marketing strategy. Carmela has a Bachelor’s

degree in International Economics and European Studies from the University of

Tübingen (Germany).


DISCLAIMER

DISCLAIMER

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMERS:

NO INVESTMENT ADVICE

This report is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where

such an offer or solicitation would be illegal. This report is distributed for informational purposes only and

should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to sell or buy any security or other

investment, or undertake any investment strategy. It does not constitute a general or personal

recommendation or take into account the particular investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of

individual investors. The price and value of securities referred to in this report will fluctuate. Past performance

is not a guide to future performance, future returns are not guaranteed, and a loss of all of the original capital

invested in a security discussed in this report may occur. Certain transactions, including those involving futures,

options, and other derivatives, give rise to substantial risk and are not suitable for all investors.

DISCLAIMERS

There are no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or results obtained from any

information set forth in this report. MyPrivateBanking GmbH will not be liable to you or anyone else for any

loss or injury resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the information contained in this report, caused in

whole or in part by its negligence in compiling, interpreting, reporting or delivering the content in this report.

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MOBILE APPS FOR BANKING 2016 - MyPrivateBanking - MyPrivateBanking... · 6.8 MANY BANKS SURPRISE WITH A THOROUGH DIGITAL STRATEGY 47 ... challenger banks or neo-banks, ... 50 3 9