Digital banking design is becoming a critical competitive factor as more consumers interact with their financial institutions through smartphones, tablets, and other digital channels. As these interactions replace or supplement visits to physical branches, banks must ensure that their digital experiences are intuitive, consistent, and easy to use across different screen sizes and devices.
The growing importance of design is prompting some financial institutions to bring expertise directly into their organizations. Acquisitions of user experience and design firms by BBVA and Capital One demonstrate how banks are investing in capabilities that can help them differentiate their digital offerings. User experience, responsive and adaptive design, and mobile functionality are increasingly tied to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
“Banks have new designs on design in the digital world.
Once regarded by some as trivial, design is becoming central to banks’ efforts to differentiate themselves on mobile and other electronic platforms.
BBVA’s acquisition last week of user-experience and design firm Spring Studio, and Capital One’s purchase last fall of a similar kind of company, Adaptive Path, put a fine point on the new reality. Both targets are relatively small shops in San Francisco that employ skilled, relatively young design talents.
To be sure, banks have been customers of digital design firms for years. But bringing the function in-house underscores how the race within digital banking is quickly gaining momentum as more people interact with their banks through screens of varying size.”
With mobility being such a critical success factor for today’s financial institutions, it’s no surprise that FIs are partnering with, and acquiring, digital design firms. Mercator Advisory Group research on mobile banking trends has found that such topics as user experience (UX) and design, and adaptive design are important elements in an emerging digital banking world, and important drivers of overall customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
As digital banking continues to expand, design can no longer be treated simply as a cosmetic consideration. The way customers navigate an application, locate information, complete transactions, and move between devices can directly influence how they perceive their financial institution. A poorly designed experience can create frustration even when the underlying banking functionality performs as intended.
Bringing design expertise in-house can also give banks greater control over the development of their digital experiences. Rather than treating user experience as an isolated project, financial institutions can incorporate design considerations throughout product development and continuously refine their applications as customer expectations and technology evolve.
Effective digital banking design must also account for the growing variety of devices customers use to interact with their banks. Adaptive approaches can help ensure that functionality remains accessible and intuitive regardless of screen size or platform. For financial institutions competing for digitally engaged customers, creating a strong user experience can become an important way to differentiate their services. Investments in UX and digital design therefore have implications beyond appearance or usability; they can contribute to customer satisfaction, strengthen brand loyalty, and help banks build deeper relationships through increasingly important digital channels.
Overview by Edward O’Brien, Director, Banking Channels Advisory at Mercator Advisory Group
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