Practical guide to create the next big mobile banking solution
Technology has made it possible to upbring and even disrupt traditional financial services. Thus, Fintech is a new industry that heavily consumes technology for various products ranging from peer-to-peer payments, and international wire-transfers to peer-to-peer lending marketplaces and credit scoring.
This article aims at sharing what I believe should be standard features of a mobile banking solution.
On-boarding
The on-boarding process is most likely the first experience that your users will have of your solution. That means your must give them a good first impression or else the drop-out probability will increase highly.
In general, user registration is a tedious process that requires users to take time to fill out long forms, giving a lot of their details while they have not yet experienced the added-value that your solution offers.
The number one rule to apply here is: less is more. Meaning only require necessary information from your users in order to let them use the app; or at least discover what the app looks and feels like.
Consider the following scenario:
- User signs up by entering their full name, mobile number, proof of identity and a chosen password;
- While waiting for the identity verification process to be completed, the user gets access to the app and starts using some limited features;
- Once “convinced” by the capabilities of the solution at hand, the user can complete the rest of the information (email address, picture…) and hence gain access to the full solution.
By allowing users to quickly explore your product offering upfront, you help create a big leap towards increasing conversion rate. When time comes to ask for regulatory information towards completing KYC (Know your Customer), make sure to do it in a non-obstructive way.
Path the way for the user in signup
Consider breaking down the signup process into consumable steps. Users will be most likely be focused on one task at a time. In addition, also display a progress bar to show how many steps are remaining to complete the signup process
App-Design and Features
From a design and development perspective, here are some advice about which features must go into building a mobile banking app.
Visually-appealing design
When it comes to consumer banking, people have most likely have money going out instead of coming in. Therefore, using symbols or colors — like Red number for outgoing transfers — not only is aggressive to the eye but also will irritate your users. Instead, only color code incoming transfers and leave out Red for things like errors.
Demystified language
Financial sector is often known to have complex terminology. Try to be as simple as possible so that everyone can understand your product and features without being too simplistic either. Finance is a serious matter but it doesn’t have to be too complex.
Extra white space
If your app holds a lot of important information, it is vital to think over the presentation of those information. White space or negative space is that space between UI elements that aids users in finding information they are interested in. Unlike what it’s name might suggest, white space doesn’t have to be white. Any color will do the trick.
AI-Powered predictions
Fintech products can be great contenders to make the most out of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. AI can be applied to Customer Service by creating intelligent virtual assistants as an example. Swedbank for instance is using Nina, a Nuance human-like conversational service to enable quick access to information through Natural Language Processing (NLP)
AI can even go a step further to become predictive. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) is a deep learning system that works as two competing neural networks: a generator and a discriminator. The generator and discriminator work together on real and fake data sets to detect fraudulent behavior for instance.
Compliance
Financial Services abide to a highly regulated environment. As a result, Fintech providers should know they customer (KYC) through a strict process before granting access to the service.
Besides the basic information, they should verify the client’s identity and address. This should be completed before opening a bank account for instance. This process should be designed in such a way to be as painless as possible. The German mobile bank N26 uses external providers to verify users identity either through ID Now — a Skype-like identity verification platform — or in person by going to the Post service.
Now all is left for you is to put in practice the tools showcased above to create your own banking solution and be part of the Fintech revolution of the 21 century.
