The most awesome-est mobile banking app

Years ago I headed up the mobile banking project at my former employer.  Mobile banking was new on the scene and there weren’t many providers to choose from.  So what I focused on was what type of mobile banking I personally wanted to use.

We ended up going with the “triple-play”.  The iPhone had just come out so smart phones weren’t as popular.  Consequently, I figured the WAP and mobile app options wouldn’t be that popular.  Text messaging, however, turned out to have a very high adoption rate.

We blew the industry standard adoption rates out of the water. At the time, I figured SMS alerts would be a highly desired feature.  Once people saw how it worked during branch demonstrations, they signed up in droves.

Fast forward to today and we see that mobile banking has really evolved.  Unfortunately, most credit unions don’t take advantage of the many features that are available.  Decision makers seem to select solutions that allow them to say “we have mobile banking”.  Instead, they should choose a solution that they themselves want to use.

Were I on a mobile banking project team today, I would try to get the most awesome-est mobile banking app available; something that I would want to use and show off.  So what features would this app have?  I’m glad you asked.

High level security

If we want members to use mobile banking, we have got to make sure this is nailed first

Branch & ATM locator

Credit unions have the largest ATM network in the nation.  What better way to show that off?

Real-time transaction and daily balance alerts

Some credit unions have mobile alerts, but transactions have to have a minimum amount, typically $100.  Or, you can only get a balance alert once a week.  I don’t know who made this decision, or maybe it’s a vendor limitation, but that isn’t going to cut it.  If I get a $3 latte at Starbucks, I want a doggone alert sent to my phone.  Every morning, I want a balance alert.  Personally, my daily balance alerts saved me when my account was compromised.  Say it with me, no minimum thresholds.

Alerts by location

Since I’m already receiving transaction alerts, why not interface with Google maps and give me the location of where the transaction was made?

App help button

Amazon’s Kindle has a help button and that seems like a really cool feature.  I don’t always want to talk to someone, but having a direct connection would be nice.  Especially if it’s something like Apple’s Facetime or Skype

Passcode/Touch ID integration

Typing in my online banking credentials takes soooooo long.  It would be nice if I could just open the app to view balances and use Passcode/Touch ID for transactions that move money out of my accounts

Quick Transfer

There are times where I may need to do a quick transaction from a secondary to primary account.  Going through the transfer screen can be tedious.  This would work similar to quick withdrawals found on ATMs

Cardless ATM transactions

Paydiant’s solution seems to have this nailed down

Send money feature

Something like Simple’s MoneyDrop would be nice, especially if it can be used outside your credit union network.

Schedule an appointment

For when email and mobile chat just won’t do.  Sometimes in person is the way to go.

Mobile remote deposit capture

Although I don’t use this feature a lot, I know others do

Mobile wallet

Yeah, I’m that guy.  You know, the one that pulls out his phone to pay at Starbucks.  Now if I could only do that in the Lego store.

Card administration

City Bank in Texas has a feature that allows you to disable/enable your debit card from their mobile app.  Setting “do not use” times, similar to “do not disturb” for alerts, would be nice also.

View check images

For those of us that still write the occasional check, this would be handy; especially if I don’t have to scroll through transactions to find and view the images.

So there you have it, my most wanted mobile banking features.  Unfortunately, no one vendor offers all of these in their solution.  But now they at least know what one credit union member wants.

 

 

George Pasley

George Pasley

George Pasley is the founder of iMazuma, a web software company based in Charleston, SC. iMazuma specializes in back office automation software and recently launched FS Vendors, an online financial ... Web: www.imazuma.com Details