Singapore Banking Mobile Apps — Can they finally get it right?
Disclaimer: These are just my own personal experiences when using the banking mobile apps and how it still occasionally frustrates me till today despite recent revamps and updates to their interfaces.
For those that are not familiar with the financial institutions scene that we have in Singapore, we currently have about 119 foreign banks and 6 local banks dominating here. These figures do not seem surprising given that Singapore is recognised as an international financial centre.
According to Statrys, the top three banks in Singapore are: DBS, OCBC and UOB. Significant progress in terms of improving the overall banking experience has been made — from when we have to physically make a trip down to the bank just to deposit or withdraw money to having an automatic teller machine and digital platforms that does almost every imaginable banking services for us.
OCBC
OCBC recently updated the interface of their mobile app with a completely new look. But there are still a couple of issues that frustrates me as a user each time when I have to use the app.
- The login process
Summarising the diagram below, the entire login process requires at least 7 steps before I can access my account details or to proceed with using the services. This could be resolve by having various login options (such as Singpass or entering our Access ID and password) right from the beginning instead of just having FaceID as the only option. These alternative options only appear at the final step when FaceID fails. It also makes it frustrating for the user when they are not sure what is the next step to take after entering all their details and there are no further prompts/buttons to go to the next step.
2. Finding the Services
Guess works tend to be involved when navigating through the app as I would often find myself tapping through various features before finding the services that I require. Users would have to select a service from the menu (e.g., Transfers & Payments) before you can select the individual service (e.g., Scan, PayNow, Local, Bills).
One issue that I noticed has not yet been resolved is when users want to add a new credit card under ‘Pay Bills’. You are not able to add a card via the mobile app — you need to log onto the OCBC internet banking website to add a new card. My guess is that it is for security purposes but I find it absolutely unnecessary (even DBS has allowed users to add a new credit card directly on the mobile app).
3. Non-Responsive
On multiple occasions (so many times that I have already lost count at this point of being a user), the app failed to respond when I was in the midst of paying my bills, transferring funds to someone or even when I just want to return to the homepage. I either refresh the app, give up and just try again later, or use another banking app.
I did further research on the feedback of this app on the Apple App stores — turns out I was not the only one facing similar issues. But strangely, the rating of this app is relatively high which does not seem to correspond to the feedback that users have posted.
Though I do have to acknowledge that there were significant improvements made to the overall user experience in the latest version, as compared to the previous ones. Some examples include the home page, transfer of funds etc.
DBS
It has been awhile since DBS updated their UI interface and though it is an improvement from the previous versions, it does seem that sometimes it is too many things all at once.
- More User-Friendly
The app tries to pack many functions within the same page. Users would find it difficult to immediately locate and use the services that they require.
For an example, one of the item that still slips my mind is when using PayNow to make payments at the stores. [PayNow is a service that is offered by participating banks in Singapore that allow users to send and receive Singapore Dollar funds from one bank to another using just a mobile number.]
The PayNow function is usually accessible via the home screen. However, if users logged into their account, they would find themselves tapping through various functions to search for the PayNow function.
2. Non-Responsive
Overall, the DBS digibank app works fine when it comes to the basic functions such as transferring funds and paying bills.
However, there were instances where the app becomes non-responsive in the midst of transferring funds and gets logged out. Users like myself are unsure if the transactions were successful and would have to either a) go through the transactions history or b) contact customer service to verify the funds transfer.
Facing similar issues and frustrations when dealing with the banking apps? Give a clap 👏🏻 or share your thoughts!
