Adaptive Lab have just conducted some research into the current generation of UK consumer banking apps. This presentation highlights three areas in which these apps could improve. For more information, see the complete report: http://bit.ly/1FNiBCz

1. 3 ways banking apps
let customers down…
and why that matters

2. use a banking
app at least
once a week
1 in 3
want to do all
their banking
on apps
1 in 5
UK consumers have embraced
mobile banking

3. …and apps are a factor
when they choose their bank
Image created by Wilson Joseph,
from the Noun Project
would switch banks
to get a better app
1 in 5

4. But when we reviewed leading
banking apps, none offered an
outstanding experience
Image created by Wilson Joseph,
from the Noun Project
Highest and lowest scores for
app UX and functionality
75%
32%

5. We assessed the UX of 5 UK retail
banking apps, using a range of
different research techniques
Image created by Wilson Joseph,
from the Noun Project
Qualitative user
research
In-depth interviews
& observation of bank
customers using the apps
Quantitative
survey
Nat rep survey of 400
consumers, conducted
by ResearchNow
Expert heuristic
analysis
Assessment of the apps
against 65 usability criteria
by two UX researchers
Analysis of
app reviews
Analysis of thousands of
reviews from the Apple and
Google Play app stores
☐✓

6. We discovered that banking apps
are letting down customers
in 3 key areas:
Image created by Wilson Joseph,
from the Noun Project
Functionality
1.
Payment
experience
2.
Convenience
3.

7. 1. Functionality

8. Banking apps are missing
key functionality:
Source: ResearchNow, UK NatRep survey, December 2014
% of UK consumers who want this functionality
64%
See pending
payments
57%
Manage
direct debits
52%
Add new
payees

9. Consumers don’t want to have to
channel shift away from apps
but limited app functionality
means they have to

10. When they shift, they choose
channels that cost banks more
61%
visit the
website
costing banks
£0.16
per visit
11%
ring the
call-centre
costing banks
£0.86
per call
25%
visit a
branch
costing banks
£2.90
per visit
Sources: ResearchNow, UK NatRep survey, December 2014;
Javelin Strategy & Research

11. Payment
experience

12. Start-ups are offering seamless
payment experiences
Sending money
via Snapchat

13. More and more apps are
offering payments

14. While some banking apps are still
struggling with the basics
‣ Naming: banks’ language (“transfers” versus
“payments”) confuses consumers
‣ Unhelpful forms: when users make an error,
apps don’t alert them, or help them fix it
‣ PayM: trying to pay someone not registered
for PayM is frustrating and disappointing

15. Convenience

16. Many apps don’t consider their
users’ convenience enough
In dozens of little ways, these
apps make users’ lives harder

17. Some apps don’t balance security
and convenience appropriately
Users check their
balance as often as
several times a day,
and want to check
quickly.
Requiring full log-in
every time slows down
this low-risk activity.

18. …although some are doing
better than others
Tesco’s Balance Peek:
swipe down to reveal
balances for 5 seconds

19. Many apps don’t offer search, filter
or pagination for transactions
To find older
transactions, users of
this app have to
laboriously scroll back
through the months

20. Some apps waste space on things
that aren’t important to users
Using half the screen for
the balance & account
info means only a few
transactions can be
seen at once
Transaction details are
squashed to fit and so
they’re hard to read.

21. Want more? Download our full
research report for more ways
banking apps can be improved
Click here to
get your free
summary report

22. Adaptive Lab is a digital
innovation company.
We partner with companies to
solve problems and transform
businesses through human-
centred design, rapid prototyping
and user testing, then agile and
lean development of web and
mobile services.
22
Find out more at our website: www.adaptivelab.com