BofA, USAA, Citi Top Tablet Banking Report

Bank of America, Citi and USAA have the best tablet banking offerings, according to a new report released by Javelin Strategy & Research.

According to the report, mobile banking by tablet owners is now growing at twice the rate of non-tablet owners, with 49 percent of tablet owners utilizing mobile banking vs. 22 percent of non-tablet owners. Javelin predicts this growth will continue as overall tablet adoption is forecasted to grow to 40 percent by 2016.

[How to Create a Superior Tablet Banking App.]

While most top banks have iPad and Android apps, the report identified Bank of America, Citi and USAA as tablet banking market leaders.

According to Javelin, Bank of America has the not tablet-optimized apps. While a majority of the top 25 banks have iPad and Android apps, less than 20 percent have native tablet apps specifically designed for the iPad, Android or Kindle Fire, as opposed to ported over smartphone apps. Bank of America is the only financial institution that has rolled out native apps for the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Android platforms, said Javelin.

Javelin also gave plaudits to Citibank for its Kindle Fire app, which provides "effective and intuitive personal financial management tools that appeal to tablet consumers." Meanwhile, USAA has the top-ranked tablet banking apps and received the highest consumer rating on Apple's App Store.

"FI's should first optimize their mobile sites for tablets because most tablet owners access their bank accounts using browsers, said Mary Monahan, EVP and research director for Mobile at Javelin in a prepared statement. "Only then should FIs deliver an enhanced experience and deepen customer relationships with downloadable apps."

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio