Mobile banking, although already on the rise even before the pandemic, has experienced extensive growth from 2020 onwards, establishing itself as a key element in improving the customer experience.
Current state of mobile banking
As reported in the article How Banking Apps use Push Notifications to enhance the Customer Experience published by One Signal, statistics show that even before the pandemic, two thirds of American smartphone users had one or more financial services apps running on their device and 55% of consumers had at least one full-service banking app.
According to the report Mobile Finance Apps Report Banking on the future of Fintech by Liftoff and data.ai, in 2020 there were 4.6 billion downloads of new financial apps globally. In addition, users spent 16.3 billion hours using these apps and Latin America experienced the largest increase in demand for financial apps, with a 75% increase in Brazil and a 90% increase in Argentina.
The publication provides further significant figures on the mobile banking phenomenon, stating that fintech apps tend to be better at keeping users engaged than traditional banking apps, with sessions of the best fintech apps outperforming banking apps by a factor of 10.8. However, retail banking apps remain popular in North America and Europe, while fintech apps rank highest in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mobile banking in the traditional financial ecosystem
What can banks do to continue to lead the market across all regions? According to Oriol Ros, Director of Corporate Development at Latinia, “the keys to achieving this are a strong commitment to digital transformation, omni-channels, and the adoption of highly customisable customer-centric business models based on data analytics”. In this regard, he explains that, “at Latinia, we have the most advanced solutions to help financial institutions in this process.”
One of the most effective actions that banks can take in relation to mobile banking is to provide alerts for their customers. Push notifications help streamline the user journey and provide the standard of communication and service that consumers expect from banks. Mobile push notifications are vital to your app’s success, keeping users engaged with their personal finances, fostering customer relationships, and offering guidance and support on the go.
What types of notifications are best suited to connect with customers?
From transactional events to investment advice, these are the key alerts highlighted by One Signal in its report on mobile banking, financial apps, and customer experience:
- Transactional events
These instant, real-time updates play a daily role in building customer relationships by providing useful information to end users and drawing their attention to spending behaviours. They also serve to build trust in your brand and reinforce your presence.
- Security alerts
Sending security alerts to keep users informed of any suspicious activity regarding their accounts is highly valued by customers. This proactive communication strategy will reassure users and build confidence in your institution.
- Overall financial position updates
With mobile alerts, users are encouraged to review their account statements, track their time deposits, review loan or card statements; in short, to check their overall financial situation more frequently. Sending reminders to users to carry out these actions gives your bank a presence in a subtle way.
- Bank communications
Push notifications help build a bond with the bank and its customer service teams. This instils trust and creates a positive impression of the brand while customers are busy with other tasks outside of the platform.
- Financial planning, support, and investment advice
Thanks to alert platforms, it is possible to send information that may be of interest to customers outside the commercial and service environment, with links to educational content on topics such as types of loans, saving strategies, long-term financial planning tips, and investment advice.
