Mobile banking apps have come a long way

Business banking customers today are more willing than ever to switch banking providers. In one recent study, 27% of surveyed respondents stated they were “rather likely” to switch banks. It demonstrates the need for banks to step up their game. But how should they do that? One way is through better mobile banking.

While it’s true that mobile banking has become ubiquitous in our lives, there is still some room for banks to innovate in the space. Indeed,t many banks are still struggling to deliver a successful mobile banking experience. Many mobile apps only offer partial tools for banking, or they don’t have all the features that Salt Lake City-based businesses require.

This represents a problem for bankers. Customers switching banks does not portend well for financial institutions. How are banks stepping up their game? Many are focusing on improving their mobile experience. Given that customers are more willing than ever to switch banking providers, community banks in Utah and beyond need to step up their game when it comes to mobile apps.

At the minimum, mobile apps should be able to offer nearly every feature available in an institution’s desktop online banking solution. Businesses should be able to access their business checking and business savings accounts quickly and easily through a mobile banking solution.

There are several features that mobile apps should have. They include:

• Mobile deposits
• Spending/budget analytics
• Searchable transaction history
• In-app peer-to-peer payments
• Account alert customization

Business banking customers should receive instant access on the go to account balances, statements and history, bill payment, funds transfers, Zelle P2P, mobile check deposit, card alerts and a bank/ATM finder. These functions provide a convenient solution for customers who need quick access to common bank functions, products, and services.

Still, it’s important to note that you need to do more than deploy features in apps. Features for the sake of features do no one any favors. The features you put into your mobile banking experience need to be useful. However, it’s not enough to just deploy various features on apps — the features should improve the overall user experience.

Banks fine-tuning their mobile experience must pay very close attention to the kind of user experience they provide. In the end, a mobile app should be able to support all the same actions as a website, but only a few options should be accessed quickly within one or two taps. Fortunately, usage analytics provide welcome insights into how business-checking customers use the app. As a result, banks must always refine the user experience to match how their user base actually uses the app.

What should the mobile experience look like?

But how might this look in practice? Examples include offering different user interface designs to accommodate the different business user segments using the app. Business customers will expect common features such as ACH transfers or bill pay one-tap options for business account owners.

In the end, mobile banking apps should eliminate friction points along the user journey. Here at First Utah Bank, we strive to ensure our user journey is a smooth and pain-free process. Our vision is to combine the power of trusted advisors with innovative technology, to build unwavering loyalty by connecting people to their dreams. We recognize that digital banking has a significant impact on our customers, and we want to provide them with the tools they need to be successful. That’s why we’ve invested a considerable amount of time and energy in ensuring our mobile banking offerings provide our business banking customers all over Utah with the features they both want and use.

We’ve put together a solid roadmap to follow. We haven’t been resting on our laurels when it comes to mobile banking. Because if we want to keep our business banking customers, we understand that we need to continually innovate.

Continuous innovation is the key

The catchphrase here is continuous innovation. We’ve spent a long time building organizationally grounded processes to continuously evaluate, innovate, and improve the customer experience. We understand that the customer experience is essential to providing a best-in-class mobile experience.

Fortunately, this singular focus on the customer experience extends to the rest of the bank. The customer experience should be considered in every technology and process change that touches the customer’s journey. This typically involves designing change communication and control processes with the user experience in mind, as well as having roles specifically dedicated to the overall customer experience, including the digital experience.

Are you looking for a community bank in Utah you can trust and rely on for your business financial needs? From business checking to savings, SBA loans, and treasury management services, First Utah Bank is proud to be Utah’s community bank. We help our customers thrive and we can’t wait to serve all your company’s financial needs under one roof.