With many digital banking experiences not passing muster, these new app features go beyond transactions. Here’s how innovative banks and fintechs are improving financial management and user experiences.
Consumers want to do more than transactions on banking apps. They’re increasingly interested in finding banking apps that provide intuitive experiences, personalized insights and tools that align with their financial lives. According to Alkami’s Generational Trends in Digital Banking Report, 48% of millennials have abandoned a digital banking experience due to frustration.
“Customers tell us they want to do much more than just transact in the app, and we are working to add insights and tools that help them make the most of their money and make their dreams possible,” Sonali Divilek, Head of Digital Products and Channels at Chase Bank, told The Financial Brand.
This demand pushes banks and fintech to innovate, creating features beyond the basics.
The Growing Demand for Better Digital Banking Experiences
According to the Galileo Consumer Banking Report from Datos Insights, 60% of consumers prefer managing their finances without human interaction, emphasizing the growing importance of automation and self-service capabilities within banking apps. Gen Z and millennial consumers use more than six financial tools or services to create what they need. More than half are outside their primary bank, suggesting they’re willing to shop around for features that fit their needs.
Personalization is also critical. Alkami’s Generational Trends Report found that 65% of millennials want tailored product recommendations, and many are comfortable with AI if it improves their banking experience. That provides an opportunity for banks and financial institutions to break out of the box and do more with their apps, building long-term relationships and loyalty with customers.
With consumer expectations growing, banks and fintech companies have developed these six new app features to improve customer experience:
1. Bank of America: Erica Virtual Assistant Creating a Unified App
“We’ve conducted extensive market research and experience design studies through the years, and our findings have been clear and consistent,” Jorge Camargo, Head of Digital Platforms: Online Banking, Mobile App & Erica, Alerts at Bank of America, told The Financial Brand. “Clients want the simplicity and convenience to monitor, manage, and optimize their full financial picture from a single place.”
To meet customer needs, Bank of America consolidated five pre-existing apps into one, giving customers a unified view of their finances on a single platform. One of the app’s key features, Erica, is an AI-powered assistant that helps users complete banking transactions, get snapshots and insights on spending trends, and schedule in-person meetings. Since launching, Erica has recorded over 2.1 billion interactions across 58 million verified digital users.
“We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback on Erica to date,” says Camargo. “Clients have told us that Erica has helped them save money by alerting them to things such as unwanted subscription charges they didn’t realize they had.”
2. Chase Bank: Credit Journey® and Financial Health Tools
“We are making it easier to do more with Chase and across the products we offer, from booking travel and redeeming points to engaging with offers from merchants they love,” Chase’s Divilek says.
One key feature Chase offers is Credit Journey®, a free credit monitoring tool for consumers that also offers identity monitoring for dark web surveillance and data breach notifications. Within Credit Journey®, the Score Planner provides a personalized action plan based on customer goals while evaluating how achievable it is within a given timeframe. Divilek highlights that the development of Score Planner came directly from customer feedback.
“Customers wanted more purposeful and actionable information around how to improve their credit scores,” Divilek says. “We took that feedback to create Score Planner to help them get more insights and demystify the steps they could take to achieve a better score.” Users who complete the plan have seen their scores increase by an average of 30 points.
3. Varo Bank: Smart Ledger for Budgeting and Financial Planning
Varo Bank introduced Smart Ledger. It combines the benefits of a checking or savings account with budgeting and financial planning tools so users can track financial health. It offers a comprehensive view across sub-categories, and month-over-month comparisons let customers see spending patterns and gain insights into their finances.
“We constantly hear from Gen Z and younger millennial banking customers about wanting a personalized experience that meets their needs. Smart Ledger’s simplicity and intuitive interface combines with the depth in the variety of spending and saving data to help build better banking habits from the jump.” Colin Walsh, CEO of Varo Bank, told The Financial Brand.
Varo aims to help a key demographic — college-age Gen Z users — monitor various income streams and spending budgets with a straightforward approach to money management in a single place. “By having an intuitive Smart Ledger built within the Varo Bank app for everyone, we’re democratizing budgeting insights and personalized banking behaviors for all,” Walsh says.
4. FV Bank: Integrated Fiat and Digital Asset Management
The FV Bank app allows customers to manage fiat and digital currencies and investments in one secure, integrated platform. Users can access traditional deposit methods such as domestic and international wire transfers, SWIFT, and stablecoins, along with multiple foreign currencies, offering flexibility without needing third-party exchanges or additional accounts.
“For SMEs and startups in the fintech and blockchain space, having access to a compliant and regulated bank that offers US banking, global payment rails, foreign currency support, and real-time access to expense management via Visa-branded debit cards is essential,” Miles Paschini, CEO at FV Bank, told The Financial Brand.
FV Bank’s platform lets clients manage USD and other fiat currencies with integrated digital asset services. The app also includes a unified dashboard for viewing banking and digital asset portfolios. And a Visa debit card feature helps customers manage everyday business spending. “Businesses no longer have to choose between traditional banking and blockchain innovation—they can have both in one place,” says Paschini.
5. OneUnited Bank: WiseOne Insights and CashPlease
OneUnited Bank’s app features tools like WiseOne Insights and CashPlease. WiseOne Insights is an AI-driven feature that provides actionable financial literacy information to users to help them better manage their money. CashPlease offers small-dollar loans of up to $1,000 without requiring a credit check, providing a quick alternative to traditional payday loans with much higher interest rates.
“Consumer feedback about their unmet financial needs pushes our innovation and upgrades,” Teri Williams, President and COO of OneUnited Bank, told The Financial Brand. Customers want a super mobile banking app that provides more than information on their bank account. They want to gain financial literacy and valuable insights, monitor their accounts to detect fraud, and improve their overall financial well-being.”
By offering AI-powered insights and accessible short-term loans, OneUnited Bank aims to provide users with tools to manage finances responsibly, monitor accounts for fraud, and improve overall financial well-being.
6. Featurettes: Hyper-Targeted Customer Engagement
Another innovation banks can use to drive customer engagement is creating mobile-first Featurettes. These let banks create hyper-targeted content for customers based on their behaviors and attributes and can be used within apps to communicate personalized information to users and demonstrate new products and services.
“We’ve seen click-through rates as high as 83% and conversion rates near 8%, helping FIs convert customers onto new products,” Jon Tvrdik, CEO and founder of WaveCX, a digital product engagement platform for financial institutions told The Financial Brand. “In fact, one of our FIs said they have a new mandate to not release new product features without promoting via Featurettes.”
A tool like Featurettes can help banks and credit unions provide more personalized experiences, only offering the most relevant products and customer service needs when the customer needs it. That helps remove some of the noise and irrelevant content they may be experiencing with other banking apps.
The Key to Better Customer Experience
Banks and fintech have a significant opportunity to leverage data-driven insights and AI to provide more personalized, timely, and relevant financial advice. Building more comprehensive, seamless, and personalized features can keep customers engaged and help them stay in the app.
Liz Froment is a financial services writer based in Boston. She specializes in banking, lending and wealth management with an interest in technology. Her work has appeared in Business Insider and The Motley Fool, among others.