Mobile banking – the power of fintech

In 2015, 15 leading global banks invested nearly $80 million on 606 mobile banking apps. HSBC alone had 11 iOS, 6 Android, and 1 Blackberry app in operation. Barclays had an added 30 iOS and 27 Android apps. This figure reflects spending at all stages of app development, testing, deployment, advertising, consumer education, and so on.

Meeting customer expectations

The market is tough for competing banks and customer retention is everything. The public expect to have a ‘bank in their pocket’ these days and be able to make payments, check balances, and more from their phones. In the USA, 62% of users primarily interact with their accounts through digital banking.

Benefits of mobile banking

The benefits of mobile banking are where banks need to invest their time and money. The more customers experience the following, the more likely they are to stick to their bank:

  • Money management, customers are finding it easy to stay on top of their accounts through mobile banking and therefore avoid debt and charges;
  • Security, it’s easier for customers to spot suspicious activity in their accounts if they are checking them more often. Also, the inherent riskiness of mobile transactions has forced banks to add extra layers of security for fraud prevention and compliance;
  • Convenience, paying bills, opening accounts, and transferring money are all made easier with mobile banking. Some apps even allow customers to make ATM withdrawals using a code supplied by their mobile app – a handy feature if someone has left their cards at home.

A wider perspective

Shifts in the banking world are reflective of changes throughout the financial world. As we can see with growing fintech companies like iwoca, ClearBank and Algomi, investment in the future is the way forward. These companies are tackling the changes head on. Algomi investment software confronts illiquidity problems in the market. ClearBank saves costs using the cloud. What will major banks do to meet the mobile challenges and hang on to their customers? Will they be able to meet the challenges in the same way as Algomi? Investment has changed and banking will need to evolve to keep up.