North American Mobile Banking Apps Review

Forrester recently evaluated mobile banking apps in Canada and the US in our latest Digital Experience Review™ (DXR). It shows that:

• Banks’ apps are barely keeping up with customers’ needs and expectations. Mobile banking usage is rising and evolving, and the pace of change has been accelerating since 2020. Yet few customers feel their primary bank’s app is markedly better than those of other brands (fewer than one in three feel this way in both the US and Canada). Our DXR findings reveal similar trends: Just half of the banking apps we reviewed earned a score above 75 (out of a possible 100).
• Leading banks use digital capabilities to expand options and reduce barriers. The banks that offer leading mobile experiences design and build their apps so customers can conveniently complete a wide range of tasks. U.S. Bank provides users with an effective conversational assistant that answers their questions and guides them to the right feature or content. For example, when a customer wants to pay a bill, they can do so within the search interface (see images below). U.S. Bank’s app also offers external account aggregation, a money movement hub, credit score monitoring, and in-app budgeting insights. Other leading bank apps offer similar search mechanisms and financial well-being features.
• To remain competitive, banks will need new ideas. Gone are the days when a bank could expect to meet a customer’s needs (let alone exceed those needs and differentiate the brand) by building an app with limited features. Going forward, your digital teams will need to explore new ways to help customers get jobs done. Our research uncovers some of these emerging needs, such as personal data hubs and autonomous savings. In many cases, banks will need to harness emerging technologies to design and build new offerings for customers.
• AI is just starting to transform mobile banking. As we’ve seen in other markets, US and Canadian banks are using AI technologies to level up their in-app search (often with sophisticated conversational agents). This foreshadows a future when banking is more invisible and immersive. Combining graphical interfaces with chat and voice interactions and proactive notifications, apps are set to become an (almost) invisible yet essential part of everyday financial decisions and actions. Leveraging AI, leading banks will anticipate customer needs and offer personalized guidance, transforming apps from an informational and transactional tool into a trusted advisor. This shift lays the foundation for the future of beyond-the-app experiences, requiring a set of new competencies.
• Digital teams: You already have the tools you need to strengthen your app. But even before you assemble a team of futurists and AI engineers, you can make major strides to improve your mobile banking app. Digital banking teams are underusing a number of established capabilities that — when incorporated into a well-designed user experience within your app — will drive engagement, stickiness, and better business outcomes for your firm. Digital banking leaders and teams should incorporate in-app search functionality; video content and interactive media; and personalized, proactive alerts and notifications.

For a deeper dive into our DXR research and further insights from our reviews, I urge Forrester clients to check out the full report here: The Forrester Digital Experience Review™: North American Mobile Banking Apps, Q4 2024. Clients can also check out our Forrester webinar from this research.

[U.S. Bank’s In-App Conversational Search Lets Users Pay Bills Within The Interface]