A customer views their transaction history in their mobile banking app and sees a payment made to a merchant whose name is a hodgepodge of numbers and abbreviations.
While this may be a perfectly legitimate transaction, the lack of clarity can raise red flags for users. At the least, the customer must do additional legwork to determine whether the charge is valid. At the most, they may report it as fraudulent. Either way, the lack of clarity creates unnecessary friction and stress.
As Lea Nonninger, Digital Banking Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, discussed in the How to Turn Mobile Banking Activity Into Meaningful Digital Engagement report, this is just one area where banks and credit unions are falling short in the mobile banking experiences.
Chiefly, many financial institutions take a kitchen sink approach to mobile banking, overloading users with features when what they really need is guidance on how and when to use them.
Past the Transactional Relationship
Mobile banking has become a central hub for customer interactions. Users may turn to their phones to check balances, move money, or monitor transactions—all tools that help them stay on top of their financial lives.
Given this growing preference for mobile platforms, many financial institutions have continued adding digital banking features in recent years. These range from budgeting tools and credit score access to bill pay solutions.
While some customers may take full advantage of these features, a broad range of services doesn’t necessarily translate into greater value for users.
“For banks, it’s that challenge about moving past that transactional relationship with customers and having them dig a little bit deeper and building that stronger relationship that goes beyond simple tasks,” Nonninger said. “It’s moving towards building financial health and having more insights into spending, finances, and also goals for the future.”
Ditching the DIY
To deepen digital engagement, institutions will need to shift their focus from the number of features within an app to how well those features connect to real-world customer activities.
“Banks are doing a lot to improve mobile banking apps,” Nonninger said. “We’re seeing a lot of new features. Most banks have a dedicated personal finance management section now with financial fitness tools like budgets and goals. But what we are also seeing is there is that gap between those features existing in a siloed experience and the relationship that customers have with the bank. A lot of customers won’t know that those features exist.”
This highlights one of the biggest barriers to mobile banking engagement: discoverability. Many banking apps have accumulated features over time, often tucked away in separate menus and tabs.
As a result, customers may not know they can set travel notifications, turn on real-time purchase alerts, or freeze a misplaced card directly within their mobile app. And even when they are aware these tools exist, they may have trouble finding them.
Instead of taking a junk drawer approach, banks should look for ways to surface relevant tools when customers are more likely to need them.
“It’s about creating pathways that are more logical for customers and highlighting features when they they’re relevant and can improve the overall experience,” Nonninger said. “For example, if you’re already making a bill payment, why not also ask customers if they’d like to set up recurring bill payments, or when you’re reviewing your transactions, why not highlight the option to split a transaction with peers using Zelle?”
“It’s helping customers dig deeper without having to explore everything on their own and turning that DIY experience into a bit more of a guided approach,” she said.
Providing Much-Needed Reassurances
This approach can be particularly effective because transactions often have a deeper meaning for the end user.
While a bank may view alerts primarily as a security feature, customers may use them to stay informed and in control. For example, a gig worker may rely on a deposit alert to know when a payout has arrived, while a traveler may use transaction alerts to quickly identify suspicious activity while away from home.
Similarly, peer-to-peer payments facilitate important social interactions, from splitting a check to paying for small business services or sending money to family.
These everyday interactions represent opportunities for banks to step in with relevant guidance. The goal is to use transactions as a cue to steer customers toward actions and tools that can help them in that moment.
Doing so not only puts relevant features in front of users when they need them, but can also provide reassurance during moments when customers may be uncertain or concerned about their finances.
“What is always important is preserving trust,making sure that customers are aware of what they’re doing,” Nonninger said. “It’s about reassuring customers and having guardrails and speedbump prompts in place. Finances can be scary and especially setting up new features or engaging with the app more deeply can initially be a little intimidating for customers.”
The Bridge to Better Mobile Banking
The need for guidance is only likely to grow as digital banking environments become increasingly crowded with features, resources, and solutions. Amid this information overload, it has become critical for banks to make their mobile experiences more intuitive and easier to navigate.
“It’s not only about making it more interactive and engaging for customers, but also about conveying a clear message to them,” Nonninger said. “We see a lot of banking jargon within digital banking and information hidden away in tooltips. That can be very confusing to customers, blur the messages FIs are sending and in the worst cases scare customers off from trying a new banking tool.”
“It’s essential to speak in a clear language that makes sense to the everyday consumer and have explanations ready that are not just about how to use a tool, but also what the value of the tool is and why someone should even engage with it,” she said.
For banks and credit unions, a more streamlined mobile experience can create additional opportunities to deepen customer relationships. More importantly, it can help financial institutions remain a useful and trusted part of their customers’ everyday financial lives.
“I feel like we’re only at the beginning of creating that deeper engagement, banks are at a good point now where a lot of features are out there and new features are coming out,” Nonninger said. “It’s important to create that bridge between new capabilities and customers’ banking journeys now to create a more holistic banking experience. If banks succeed with that, they’re creating a place that’s not just for banking chores, but also for deeper knowledge on finances and personal insights.”
