3 Key Upgrades to Bank of America’s New Mobile App
Bank of America's latest version of its mobile app features new self-service options, multichannel integration, and easier navigation aimed at customer pain points common to the mobile channel. With more than 15 million mobile customers, Bank of America benefits from a great deal of feedback collected through app stores and customer research to help shape its mobile strategy. The biggest challenge is actually sifting through so much feedback and prioritizing which pain points need to be addressed first, says Hari Gopalkrishnan, e-commerce, architecture, and technology segments executive at Bank of America.
“We have a lot of different things that we can do, but we want to prioritize the right things. If something is not readily available [in the app] then the customer is going to give up and call the call center,” Gopalkrishnan tells us.
But with the new version of its app, Bank of America managed to address several issues that research has shown are common to mobile banking apps, such as navigation difficulties and lack of self-service options like the ability to replace a lost or stolen card through the app.
The redesigned home screen gives customers easy access to their account balances and most common transactions. Clicking on an account allows the customer to view past transactions, and presents tabs that provide customers with account details (like their account numbers) and new self-service options.
(Photos courtesy of Bank of America)
[For more on Bank of America's mobile strategy, check out: Bank of America’s Marc Warshawsky on the Future of Mobile]
Simple navigation
A new sandwich navigation menu in the top left corner of the screen gives customers easy access to all of the app’s capabilities. Navigating within the app and finding the right information or services can be a challenge for customers as more capabilities are added to the mobile app, Gopalkrishnan says.
“We’re trying to cram a whole bank into the mobile device. This structure with the sandwich menu helps the customer access capabilities more quickly. Everything in the app is available through that menu.”
Self-service
A recent Forrester study noted that large banks in the US have added many payment and transactional options in their mobile apps, but are lagging in building in self-service options. Bank of America added two new self-service options through an “I want to…” tab in the account overview section. The first option allows customers to replace lost or stolen cards (after providing some extra authentication), and the second option allows them to view and order copies of past checks.
“Our customers definitely want to self-service. One of the top reasons for calls to our call center last year was to replace passwords. There’s no need to call the call center for that. So now you can replace that online,” Gopalkrishnan says. “We look at how do people get interrupted in their life… Losing and replacing a card can be a strenuous process. So now we let them authenticate and do it themselves.”
The bank also improved its payment capabilities as well with the new app, adding the ability to make a P2P payment to an individual in the user’s contact list.
Multichannel integration
The new app also allows customers to schedule and manage appointments at Bank of America branches, a capability previously only available through online banking. Customers can see which documents they will need to bring to their appointments, and can also set up text or call reminders for the appointments.
“When arriving at the bank, by telling us what you’re coming in for, we can have a specialist ready for you, and save you time,” Gopalkrishnan notes. “I think the capability shows our commitment to delivering a cross-channel experience.”
He adds that the bank is looking at other ways to integrate mobile with other channels like ATMs and the call center IVR.
Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio