The future is “App” banking!

I'm on travels this week, but have been saving a series of three guest posts to provide you with a different dimension of view for a change.

In the first of these three guest posts Jerry Norton, Head of Banking for Logica/CGI, talks about why m-banking should be a-banking.

The
future is “App” banking!

Jerry Norton, Head of Banking –
Logica, now part of CGI

Most arguments, articles and opinions about mobile banking
miss the point. Not only that, but the term is already in danger of becoming
outmoded.  Many of the new devices that
we might use for banking are not necessarily mobile – the 32 inch smart TV
screwed to my wall being a case in point. It is for this reason that many banks
have coined the term “digital channels” and have a role to manage them.

There shouldn’t be a debate about “mobile device” banking at
all. We know that number of smart phones and tablets in use in the UK has
mushroomed in the last 12 months and that the reliability and speed of the
underlying networks are not only unparalleled but are set to improve with the
advent of 4G. Coupled with the fact that the phone is an “item of first resort”
and “last give up”   - as indicated by last
year’s research by the Payments Council, then it’s obvious that mobile devices
will become the primary channel for interaction with a bank. 

The real change is that mobile device technology has
introduced a new method for customer interaction – a touch screen rather than a
keyboard and the “App”. That is the game changer. We should call is “App”
banking.  

PC banking started with dedicated applications and slow,
dial-up lines. We all heralded the introduction of IP, the browser and the
effect it had on the provision of banking services. The standardisation that
web technology and browsers gave to electronic banking helped accelerate market
take-up.

Given that all smart phones and tablets have browsers then
why don’t we use the existing standard PC web based applications to do our
banking on mobile devices? We could just use that, right? Wrong!  Will the smart TV use a browser?

What has happened in the switch over to mobile is a
transformation in the user experience and interaction due to touch screens and
the App. The way we invoke the App and use it has changed the way we interact
with services of any type and not more so than in banking.  Web based banking is dead because it doesn’t
have a touch screen and it doesn’t have a user interface anywhere near good
enough  - not for any other reason. 

The combination of the App with a smaller, anywhere, anytime
device is a game changer. The use of the App in a smart TV will allow me to do
carry out “home banking” and “e-commerce”. And of course the App can also be
“retro” fitted to PCs even those without touch screens.  

So what is App
banking?

It is electronic banking initiated and controlled by the
customer through an App downloaded from an application store. Why is this
special?

The technology behind the development of the App allows banks
to customise customer experience and to brand that experience. Whereas browsers
only allowed a bank to put a logo on a web page! The browser forced a
particular interaction on the customer and differentiation was difficult for
the bank.  The
browser is dead for banking.

App banking gives the bank an asset, one that can be
deployed on a customer’s device. One that can feature all of a bank’s
uniqueness, functions and preferences. In a way it is the branch in your
pocket. The App also allows a common experience across all devices whether
mobile, ATM, PC or TV.

Not only do Apps give benefits to the customer but they
offer many benefits to the bank itself.

They are easy to distribute by virtue of the application
store concept, which customers are already familiar with. The App can be
personalised easily without incurring unnecessary customisation costs. It is
more akin to the “market of one” concept that the web promised but didn’t
deliver. Most importantly it can offer a much more user friendly experience.

Banks must build Apps now – it’s not an option, it’s
expected by the customer. Apps offer a quick win with disillusioned retail
customers. These Apps need to exhibit the very best in user design interaction
and graphics. This is no longer the preserve of the IT department – it’s a task
for marketing, product management and digital channels.

Of course it’s not all roses. The various mobile platforms
are not standardised, creating an App for one doesn’t mean you can deploy it on
another. The platforms are evolving at breakneck speed. An App developed today
is out of date tomorrow.

However, the opportunity to create something that really is
a branch in your pocket is too good to miss. Worse still is someone else taking
that opportunity away.

Mobile may well be the channel but Apps are the way.