Apps Archives - Finovate

Mobile: One-Size-Fits-All vs. Niche Banking Apps

By Jim Bruene Posted on June 9, 2016
Categories: Apps, Mobile Banking, US Bank

US Bank’s iOS app lineup

Early on in the smartphone era there was a debate as to whether native apps or the mobile web would carry the day. As an early iPhone user, I was solidly in the native apps camp. Some day there will be a better interface, but until then it’s an app world (though not every headline writer agrees). And now the question for financial institutions is not whether you need a native app, it’s how many do you need?

Until recently, most financial institutions hoped to have a one-size-fits-all mobile app, just like on the desktop. That’s the option that lowers development costs, simplifies tech support, and makes digital banking easier to manage. But since most financial institutions serve many customer segments, bundling too many features into one UI really gums up the overall experience.

So we are seeing more and more financial companies developing multiple native apps to support distinct business groups, customer segments, and even charitable activities. The most prolific? US Bancorp with 43 iOS apps alone, 28 of which are white-labeled for its affinity credit-card customers (see screenshot above).

Delving deeper, let’s look at the 25 most-popular free finance apps in the U.S. Apple App Store (data is from mid-March, when I started this post). The 13 financial institutions in that group have a combined 123 apps, for an average of nearly 10 per bank. However, excluding US Bank’s 28 white-label apps, the total is 93, or 7.2 per FI.

Bottom line: You may not need 7 or 8 apps, but it’s clear that multiple apps optimized for individual use have an advantage in usability and focus (ROI is a much more difficult question of course). In addition to a core mobile-banking app, most mid-size and larger FIs should evaluate dedicated apps for the following segments:

Youth
Small businesses
Mobile wallet/cards (credit/debit/prepaid)
Saving/budgeting/personal finance
Home buyers/mortgage/home equity
Car buying/auto loans
College financing/student loans
Retirement/wealth management/investing
Optional: Insurance, HSA, any other stand-alone business line

——————–

Table: Number of iOS apps per financial services provider

Banks & Card Issuers: Total of 123 apps across 13 financial institutions

US Bank: 43 (14 branded, 28 white-labeled affinity partners, 1 nonprofit)
PNC Bank: 14 (all branded)
Chase: 11 (6 Chase branded, 5 JPMorgan branded)
American Express: 10 (8 branded, Plenti, Expert Care)
Citibank: 10 (all branded)
Bank of America: 9 (4 BofA branded, 5 Merrill Lynch branded)
Capital One: 8 (7 branded, 1 CreditWise)
Wells Fargo: 5 (all branded)
TD Bank: 3 (all branded)
Discover: 3 (1 branded, 2 Diners Club)
Navy FCU: 2 (all branded)
BB&T: 2 (all branded)
USAA: 2 (1 branded, Savings Coach)

Payments: 15 apps across 4 companies

PayPal: 9 (7 branded, Venmo, Xoom)
Square: 4 (all branded)
Western Union: 1
Google Wallet: 1

Insurance: 2 apps from 2 companies

Progressive: 1
Geico: 1

Personal finance/investing: 18 apps across 6 companies

Intuit: 13 (12 branded, Mint)
Credit Karma: 1
Digit: 1
Acorns: 1
Prosper: 1
Robinhood: 1

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

65 Most Popular iPhone Apps from U.S. Banks and Other Financial Services Companies

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 26, 2011
Categories: Apps, Mobile Banking

This is a followup to last week’s 30 most popular iPad apps. Unlike the iPad, most major financial institutions have had an iPhone app for a year or longer. So the most-popular list reads pretty much like a who’s who of U.S. banking.

Observations:

Only 16 (25%) of the top-65 also have iPad apps
36 (55%) apps are from banks representing 29 unique banks (i.e., 7 apps are second or third ones from the same bank)
15 apps (23%) are from credit unions
Banks/card issuers command 6 of the top 10 spots (7 if you count PayPal)
The highest credit union is #23, Navy Federal Credit Union; Suncoast Schools FCU is second highest at #35

Methodology: Using an iPhone in the late afternoon today, I accessed the Free apps in the Finance category of the Apple App Store and sorted by “Most Popular.” I included apps only from U.S. financial institutions or from third parties that tap directly into financial institution data using account aggregation (e.g., from Yodlee, CashEdge, etc.). Pure content apps, like ING Direct’s ATM Finder, were not included even if from a financial institution.

Note: The first column below is the rank among all financial institutions (as defined above). The second column in the app’s rank within the entire App Store “finance” category. And the third column is the rank of that company’s iPad app, if they have one.

Table: 65 Most-Popular U.S. Banking Apps

FI Rank	Finance Rank	iPad Rank	Company
1	1	—	Bank of America
2	2	4	Chase bank
3	3	—	Wells Fargo
4	4	—	PayPal
5	5	—	Capital One
6	6	1, 5	Pageonce
7	9	—	Mint.com
8	10	—	American Express
9	12	2	Square
10	14	8	USAA
11	15	—	Citibank
12	17	—	Regions Bank
13	18	—	Discover
14	19	—	TD Bank
15	20	—	PNC Bank
16	21	9	Fidelity Investments
17	23	6	E*Trade
18	24	—	ING Direct
19	25	—	SunTrust
20	26	—	US Bank
21	27	—	Schwab
22	30	—	PNC Virtual Wallet
23	32	—	Navy Federal Credit Union
24	35	7	TD Ameritrade
25	43	—	Barclaycard
26	44	22	BB&T
27	47	—	ShareBuilder (ING Direct)
28	48	—	Citizens Bank (RBS)
29	52	—	Vanguard
30	58	—	JP Morgan
31	66	—	M&T Bank
32	67	24	BBVA Compass
33	70	11	Expensify
34	78	15	Merrill Lynch, My Merrill
35	82	—	Suncoast Schools FCU
36	89	—	TCF Bank
37	93	—	Arvest Bank
38	103	—	SchoolsFirst FCU
39	105	14	TDECU
40	108	—	Charter One (RBS)
41	109	10	thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade)
42	110	—	RBFCU
43	113	—	Wings Financial Credit Union
44	121	20	Merrill Lynch, Edge
45	122	—	Union Bank
46	124	—	Safe Credit Union
47	125	—	Service Credit Union
48	140	—	Comerica Bank
49	141	—	BECU
50	143	—	Zecco
51	151	—	DCU
52	158	—	NetSpend
53	160	—	Tyndall FCU
54	161	—	Golden 1
55	162	—	America First Credit Union
56	174	12	Mercedes-Benz Financial
57	178	—	Woodforest National Bank
58	179	—	TradeKing
59	182	—	M&I Bank
60	189	—	Wells Fargo, CEO
61	190	—	First Tennessee Bank
62	195	16	Bank of Oklahoma
63	196	—	SFEFCU
64	201	—	IBC Bank
65	205		VyStar Credit Union

——

Note: For more info on mobile banking, see our previous Online Banking Reports.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Southern Bancorp Launches "Shake and Bank" iPhone App Aimed at Youth

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 25, 2011
Categories: Apps, Deposits, Checking, Savings, CDs, iPhone, Mobile Banking

It’s been more than six months since we last featured a new mobile app from a financial institution (see Arvest Bank’s financial calculators). It’s not because of lack of activity, or importance. In that time, more than 1,000 financial institution apps have been introduced and the market has really heated up.

But we focus on what’s new and different. And for the most part, the class of 2010 and 2011 have been “me-too” entries. Which is exactly as it should be. Every mid-sized and larger bank and credit union needs at least one app in the iTunes store, so the last 18 months have been about gaining competitive parity.

But things will start to get more interesting again as financial institutions:

Introduce advanced features such as mobile photo billpay
Reinforce their overall brand positioning with a novel look and feel
Look to mobile to differentiate themselves from other players
Introduce niche apps for defined customer segments

Southern Bancorp’s new mobile app, Shake and Bank, ticks all four boxes. It’s an iPhone/iPod Touch app designed to give kids (or any account holder) a quick look at the balance in their account. As you can see below, Shake and Bank is pretty much self-explanatory:

1. Open app (note 1)

2. Shake iPhone

3. See balance

The app requires a setup code to launch. According to the iTunes entry, the code can be obtained through the bank’s website or at a branch. But as of today, I see no mention of Shake and Bank, or mobile banking for that matter, at their website.

Bottom line: I’m a sucker for pigs, so obviously I like it. But more importantly, Southern Bancorp makes it easy to monitor account balances with a simple kid-friendly approach. And parents will appreciate the help reinforcing the savings habit (note 1).

Southern Bancorp has $1.1 billion in assets and 40 branches in Arkansas and Mississippi.
————————

Southern Bancorp’s iPhone app targeted towards kids (link, 25 April 2011)

—————————

Notes:
1. Since I couldn’t test the app without an account, I assume there is no subsequent login requirement once you’ve entered the setup code. And more importantly, I hope that it oinks when shaken.
2. For more info on mobile banking, see our previous Online Banking Reports.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

30 Most Popular iPad Apps from U.S. Banks and Other Financial Services Companies

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 20, 2011
Categories: Apple, Apps, Mobile Banking

Apple tweaked its propriety algorithm that ranks apps in terms of popularity (Cnet article). Evidently the changes had an impact on overall rankings, but little or no effect on intra-category ranks.

That holds true with my casual observations within the finance category. Regardless, it seemed like a good time to visit the App Store and document which financial iPad apps are currently most popular (see Table below).

Note: The first column below is the rank among all financial institutions (as defined below). The second column in the app’s rank within the entire App Store “finance” category.

Observations:

The highest rated bank is Chase at number 9 in the finance category
There are only two banks (Chase & USAA) in the top 20
There are only seven consumer banks in the top 200 (Chase, USAA, Bank of Oklahoma, Trustmark, BB&T, BBVA, Bank of Texas)
There are more credit unions (8) than banks (7) in top 200 in the finance category
Still missing some huge banking names (Amex, BofA, Capital One, Citi, Discover, Mint, PayPal, US Bank)

My methodology: Using an iPad and iPhone, I accessed the finance category of the App Store and sorted by “Most Popular.” I am including only apps from any U.S. financial institution or from third parties that tap directly into financial institution data using account aggregation (e.g., from Yodlee, CashEdge, etc.). Pure content apps, like Schwab’s On Investing magazine, were not included even if from a financial institution.

FI Rank	Finance Rank	Company	App Name (+ company)
1	1	Pageonce	Money & Bills (free)
2	2	Square
3	3	Maximo Cavazzani (works with TD Ameritrade)	iStockManager
4	9	Chase Bank	Mobile
5	10	Pageonce	Pro – Money & Bills
6	11	E*Trade	Mobile Pro
7	15	TD Ameritrade	Mobile
8	20	USAA
9	21	Fidelity Investments
10	22	Thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade)
11	29	Expensify	Expense Reports
12	49	Mercedes-Benz Financial	My MBFS
13	50	Wescom Central Credit Union	Mobile
14	59	TDECU	Mobile
15	67	BofAML (BofA Merrill Lynch)	MyMerrill
16	68	Bank of Oklahoma	Mobile
17	74	MACU (Mountain America)	Mobile Banking
18	88	Trustmark National Bank
19	96	thinkMoney (TD Ameritrade)
20	97	BofAML (BofA Merrill Lynch)	Merrill Edge
21	98	JP Morgan	Mobile
22	107	BB&T	Banking
23	114	thinkorswim (TD Ameritrade)	VEO Mobile
24	131	BBVA Compass	Mobile Banking
25	169	NASA FCU	Mobile Banking
26	170	DATCU Credit Union	Mobile Banking
27	182	SCU (Scott Credit Union)	Mobile Banking
28	188	Bank of Texas	Mobile Banking
29	193	GWCU (Goldenwest Credit Union)	Mobile Banking
30	194	American Eagle FCU	Mobile Banking

——–

Note: For more info on mobile banking, see our previous Online Banking Reports.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Arvest Bank Adds Suite of Calculators and Other Non-Transactional Services to iPhone App

By Jim Bruene Posted on September 25, 2010
Categories: Apps, iPhone, Mobile Banking, Service

Like American Express, Arvest Bank is one of the dozen or so U.S. financial institutions with multiple apps in the Apple iTunes App Store (note 1). The bank has one app for account access and another which can be used only to find its branches and ATMs (app link).

However, the non-transactional app, which debuted last November, is undergoing a major facelift, with version 2.0 due in the store shortly. The bank offered a sneak peek on its blog this week (see inset).

The update contains four new functions:

Calculators: The app now includes access to a suite of 40 financial calculators (e.g., loan payment calculator) saving customers the time and hassle of searching for similar tools within the App Store.
Customer Connect will use the user’s GPS location to provide location-sensitive customer service contacts, a great way for a financial institution to demonstrate their commitment to local service.
Current Rates are easily accessible from a single button on the main page.
Arvest News houses its blog feed.

Bottom line: While these functions have been common on websites for a decade, as far as I know, this is the first app from a bank or credit union that includes all these features. Nice work.

Note:
1. In a search at AppFinder.com, there are currently 583 iPhone apps in the finance category with “bank” in their name or description. Another 483 contain “credit union” for a total of 1,066 banking apps. Not all of these are from financial institutions, but an estimated 70% to 80% FI apps.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

First Finance Apps for Apple iPad Unveiled

By Jim Bruene Posted on April 1, 2010
Categories: Apple, Apps, iPad, Mobile Banking

Apple loaded iPad apps into the main iTunes store today (see screenshot below). Search is limited and apps by category are not yet available, but you now can browse the iTunes store for iPad-optimized apps.

I looked at all 2,400 and spotted three financial titles — a credit card merchant terminal, a stock-info tracker (see below), and E*Trade’s Mobile Pro — plus a few calculators

I was disappointed that no banks or credit unions were represented. But the iPad launch is still 36 hours away, so I may still win my bet that Bank of America will be there on the morning of April 3.

Apple iTunes App Store now features iPad apps (1 April, 5 PM Pacific)

E*Trade Mobile Pro for iPad (iTunes link)

Credit Card Terminal for iPad from Inner Fence
(for Authorize.net users; iTunes link)

MarketScan by Michael Foster (iTunes link)

Note: For more coverage of mobile banking and payments, see the most recent issue from Online Banking Report.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook