You Talked, We Listened: A Sneak Peek into the N26 App
Bringing a product to market can get pretty intense. Early mornings, late nights. Coffee cups and conference calls. Everyday we get closer to bringing N26 to the US, and in doing that, we are pursuing ideas that will help us make our product stronger.
Last month, we emailed our waitlist and asked you to share your stories, ideas, and feedback with us. Thousands of you responded. We learned a lot, and being that transparency is one of our core values, we wanted to share some insights from our conversations and let you know that we hear you loud and clear.
Here are a few things we learned and a sneak preview of how we’re implementing your feedback into our product.
Design matters
You’re busy, we know. A significant number of respondents expressed a desire for more efficient banking. We understand that when you pick up your phone, you want to get something done quickly. In our app, we make it easy to focus on what really matters by utilizing clean design, clear messaging, and intuitive navigation.
“Design is about understanding our users’ needs and motivations and using our craft to help them solve problems,” explains Vivian Lo, product designer at N26. “It’s about creating relevant experiences for people when it matters, and this means all touchpoints within the app and beyond.”
When we began building our app, our design and engineering teams worked together to develop features that take the guesswork out of banking. For example, N26 automatically sorts your transactions and displays your monthly spending habits in an easy-to-digest diagrammatic format. We know what it’s like to waste time sorting through pages and pages of seemingly endless bank statements in an effort to understand where your money goes each month, so we built something better.
Banking should be flexible
Many of you told us that banking should be more flexible. We agree. Money is too nuanced for one-size-fits-all solutions, which is why we have developed several features that help you manage your money in ways that make sense to you.
“Design is about understanding our users’ needs and motivations and using our craft to help them solve problems. It’s about creating relevant experiences for people when it matters, and this means all touchpoints within the app and beyond.”
Case in point, Spaces — a feature designed to help users visualize and personalize their financial goals. Within each Space, you can choose a name, select an icon, and specify a financial target. Why does this matter? Because research shows that when you name your goals, you’re a lot more likely to reach them.
“Someone that loves to travel might have different needs than someone who is focused on budgeting their daily finances,” Vivian explains. “Spaces allows users to organize their financial life in whatever way makes sense to them.”
Security at your fingertips
Many of you shared that your biggest banking concerns are rooted in security. We get it — mobile security can be confusing and even scary at times. We want N26 customers to feel empowered when it comes to their finances, which for us, means giving each user complete control over their account.
If your N26 card is lost, stolen, or compromised, you can lock or unlock your card instantly within the app. No heart-thumping panic spirals, no need to call a hotline and wait to speak to a customer service rep. N26 also sends instant push notifications for all purchases, withdrawals, and deposits, allowing users to monitor all account activity in real-time without even opening the app. For additional security, users can also use face and fingerprint recognition to safeguard their accounts.
Behind each feature that we develop is a team of dedicated security engineers and specialists who perform several threat-modeling sessions to identify potential threats from a hypothetical attacker’s point of view.
“We believe security should be involved with feature development at inception,” explains Ryan Cooke, N26’s US Head of Technology. “Our application security team is cross-functional and embedded across the organization.”
More than anything, these conversations have taught us that when it comes to making banking better, you’re as eager as we are. If you haven’t yet, join our waitlist for early access to N26. We can’t wait to show you what we’re made of.
Do you have a big idea for N26? We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts with us on Twitter. And while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more content, product announcements, and more.
