The UK’s mainstream banks have taken the initiative to make their mobile channels more accessible to their customers, as customers now focus heavily on the digital sphere.
A survey published by a leading business and finance magazine illustrated that 72% of all UK respondents use mobile banking. Of all those who use mobile banking 82% stated that they prefer to use the digital platform as their primary medium of banking. On the other hand, 62% of those who were surveyed expressed concerns about the service and subsequently addressed that they would change banks if the service wasn’t up to standard.
Mainstream financial institutions such as Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland have placed mobile channels at the forefront of their transactions “Technology is at the centre of our strategy…we are constantly developing new mobile banking features to help our customers stay connected to their finances,” according to Zak Mian, Group Digital and Transformation Director at Lloyds Banking Group.
The UK Mobile Banking Competitive Edge Report shows the 10 largest financial institutions offering zero-fee current accounts on whether they offer the mobile features that customers say they care most about.
The report draws on two exclusive data sources: a benchmark of the 10 largest UK financial institutions by 33 features and a UK consumer study on the desirability of each of those features. This enabled the team a data-driven perspective on the highly in-demand features, such as card controls, which they should focus their attention on. At the same time, it was revealed that voice banking had minimal consumer demand, hence giving insights on its prioritization.
K ey takeaways from the report:
- Lloyds currently offers the most popular mobile banking feature set in the UK.
- The bank’s in-demand security feature coupled with transfer features and competitive capabilities provide secure account access, conventional banking and account management.
- Barclays was awarded second place and Nationwide rounded up the top three.
- Customers expressed concerns over security features as their number one priority. For instance, our study’s single most in-demand feature – the ability to order a replacement card in-app – fell under this category, while the ability to put a temporary hold on a credit or debit card was also among the survey’s top five features, out of a list of 33.
- The features offered by the banks are highly sought-after. This includes frictionless access to users’ accounts.
- Features beyond the commonly supported biometric login options, such as a four- to six-digit passcode login and the ability to see accounts at other banks in one portal are offered to differentiate banks.
- Digital money management features are sought-after by the UK mobile banking users in our study. This section includes features that help users cut spending and grow savings, including the abilities to view recurring charges and spending within specific date ranges. The ability to cancel subscriptions, such as for Netflix, was called “extremely valuable” by 30% of respondents and was the section’s most in-demand feature.
- Conversational banking capabilities are not a priority for consumers. Four out of five lowest in demand features fell into the category.
The Intelligence’s Mobile Banking Competitive Edge study includes: Barclays, Co-operative Bank, CYBG, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland), Metro Bank, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland (NatWest, RBS), Santander, and TSB.
The survey data for this report comes from Business Insider Intelligence’s UK Mobile Banking Competitive Edge Survey, which was fielded between June 4, 2019, and June 11, 2019 — 1,083 UK respondents were asked to rank the value of 33 innovative mobile banking features. Respondents to the survey were mobile banking users selected to align with the UK population on the criteria of gender and age..