Forrester’s 2024 North American Digital Experience Review: Banks Must Differentiate Their Mobile Banking Apps Better To Create Value For Customers

According to Forrester'sDigital Experience Review™: North American Mobile Banking Apps, Q4 2024evaluation, consumers view North American banks' mobile apps as largely undifferentiated. Mobile apps have become the channel of choice for tens of millions of banking customers. Currently though, 65% of US and 62% of Canadian banking customers, respectively, want to accomplish any financial task through a mobile app.

To gauge the effectiveness and ease of use for different mobile banking experiences, Forrester evaluated the smartphone apps of eight banks: Bank of America, U.S. Bank, USAA, and Wells Fargo in the US, and ATB Financial, CIBC, Scotiabank, and TD in Canada.

Key findings from Forrester's evaluation include:

• U.S. Bank leads the mobile banking experience in North America. U.S. Bank's app offers a strong user experience (UX) designs that helps customers quickly and easily complete tasks. It also offers an effective conversational assistant, and features like external account aggregation to help customers get a holistic view of their financial life. Other strong performers include Bank of America, CIBC, and USAA.

• AI is starting to transform mobile banking apps.Leveraging AI, banks are anticipating customer needs and offering personalized guidance, transforming the app experience from an informational and transactional tool into a trusted advisor. This shift lays the foundations for the future of beyond-the app experiences, requiring a set of new competencies.

• Actively helping customers protect their personal and financial data is now table stakes. Thirty percent of Canadian online adults and 28% in the US cite worries about security of personal or financial data as a reason for not using a mobile banking app.Tools like multi-factor authentication and biometric logins can help safeguard data and inspire customer trust.

Forrester's Digital Experience Review research, combined with results from its Banking Customer Experience Index Rankings, evaluates digital experiences delivered to consumers, helping business, marketing, and technology leaders understand the best practices and optimal digital experiences that drive growth and customer loyalty.

To access this research or arrange an interview with a Forrester analyst, please contact [email protected].