Research Project

On
“Study on new features to be added in our mobile apps”

Submitted by:
Sunil Kumar Garnayak

1 | Study on new features to be added in our mobile apps

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would not have been possible for us to carry out this project without the support
and guidance of our seniors. We would like to express our gratitude towards them
for the same.
First of all we express our sincere thanks to Staff College Bangalore for giving us the
opportunity to work on this project and their guidance, inspiration, sustained
encouragement given to us during the course of research project.
We express our appreciation to all the staff members with special reference to STC
Bhubaneswar, field functionaries for their valuable suggestions during the
completion of this project. This work could not have been completed without their
support and advices.
We express our thanks to all of them for their cooperation.

Dated: 20th July, 2019

Place: Bhubaneswar

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 Table of Contents
S.no Contents Page no
1 Introduction 4
2 Objective of the project 5
3 Methodology and Limitations 6
4 Why Mobile Banking Apps ? 7
5 Mobile Banking & Apps 9
6 Our app U-Mobile 10
7 Extensive analysis of advanced features 10
8 Conclusion 15
9 References 16

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 Introduction

The market penetration of smart mobile devices has steadily increased in the
past few years. Feature phones are being replaced with smartphones; tablets find
applications both as work instruments and as part of everyday life. Compared to
laptop computers, tablets offer virtually instant availability and longer battery life, in
addition to being easier to carry. For these reasons, they are being deployed
alongside or in replacement of laptop computers. As mobile devices become
widespread, there is a growing interest on the part of businesses, including banks,
toward investments in mobility. There is an expected return of investment in various
forms; for example, an increase in customer fidelity, the ability to reach a greater
number of potential customers or to attain a better conversion rate of prospect
customers, and extra revenue obtained through a deeper analysis of customer data
or the introduction of entirely new services.
When it comes to transactional features like checking balances and transferring
funds, most banks and credit unions do a decent (if uninspiring) job with their mobile
banking app. But these days mobile banking has essentially become a commodity —
table stakes that won’t set you apart from your competitors. How should our bank
raise the bar?
Just adding features to your mobile app can make users happier. According to
a study from Citi, 80% consumers with feature-rich mobile banking apps (defined as
having five or more features) say they are more likely to remain loyal to their financial
institution. But which features will give you the most bang for your buck? When
financial institutions evaluate their current mobile banking app to figure out what’s
next, they typically approach the process the wrong way, focusing on features that
are most likely to make the bank or credit union money.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with adding features that drive profits. But if
one of your major strategic goals is to increase adoption- and engagement rates for
your institution’s mobile app, you’ll need to offer features that consumers actually
want. Focus on the challenges consumers face, not the challenges you face.

4 | Study on new features to be added in our mobile apps

 Objective of the project
Everything is going mobile. If you don’t have an app, it's as if you don't exist! A
modern bank can hold a leading position on the market only with a well-designed
mobile application that’s smart and handy, allowing users to do the same things
they would on the website — or even more. This approach has a lot of benefits not
only for customers but also for banks.
This study mainly focuses on “new features to be added in our mobile banking apps
vis a vis scope for its improvisation”. The objective of the project to study the
following.
 To understand the basic expectations of consumers from our apps.
 To take a look at the features to provide excellent service.
 To understand how to incorporate social media APIs for faster login.
 To understand how to utilize existing hardware capabilities for
smoother login.
 To explain how to advertise our 3rd party products.
 To study functioning of chatbot and a customer care team to provide
any kind of support.
 To compare the app of our peer banks with ours for analysis.

5 | Study on new features to be added in our mobile apps

 Methodology and Limitations
Methodology 
 Collection of information /opinions from field functionaries and customers
through a suitable questionnaire about improvement of our apps.
 Collection of feedback from our app users from Google play store and
Appstore.
 Analysis of basic expectations of our app users.
 Collection of data from international bank apps’ UI
 This is a descriptive research paper based on secondary data. Data have been
found on various websites, Reports of RBI, KPMG, IAMAI and various others.
The data was also collected from journals and articles published in
newspaper.
Limitations 
 The study will be based on collective data mostly from questionnaire and
personal interaction with our consumers and bank officials.
 The effectiveness of the suggestions is based on the various opinions
given by the field functionaries.

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Why Mobile Banking Apps ?
Technology-enabled handheld devices are the future of banking. Slowly but surely,
more and more consumers are opting for the convenience that Mobile Banking
provides, as opposed to traditional branch banking. While basic transactional
features such as funds transfer and balance updates have been around for some
time, today's Mobile Banking experience offers some advanced features. Here are
some of them:
Customisation: You don’t have to sift through pages of links to find what you are
looking for. Contemporary banking apps allow customisation of the menu so you can
easily access your most frequently used services.
Investments: Not just banking, your mobile app now allows you to make Term
Deposits, Mutual Fund investments, invest in IPOs, and manage your Demat holdings,
all in one place.
Bill payment: No need to physically visit the outlets or download specific apps for
different services. Most of your utility bills, mobile and DTH connections can be paid
from your banking app. Customers who have prepaid connections can use the
recharge via missed call option. They can activate the option for family and friends
too through the bank account.
Effective budgeting: You need the right tools for effective budgeting. What if you had
everything you needed to stay on top of your expenses in just one place? All of your
income, expenses, and savings categorised and managed from a single place for
better budgeting.
Alerts: Register for InstaAlerts and stay on top of all your financial activities, available
right at your fingertips. Other than regular transaction banking, you can set alerts for
bill payments and expense tracking via your banking app. Customise your alerts, so
that you that you only receive an intimation for what is relevant to you whether it is
the sweet ring of a salary credit or the deadline for a bill payment!
Account history: No need to have your statement updated physically at a branch
anymore. Access your account history through your Mobile Banking app with a single

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click. With the mPassbook you can access your account history anytime and
anywhere, even without data connectivity!
Online shopping: A MobileBanking App can help you compare prices across service
providers, and allows you to avail of discounts and CashBack, and redeem loyalty
points. Collaborations with the biggest and best shopping portals customers to pay
bills, shop online, book air travel and hotel accommodation on a single exclusive
platform.
Feedback and redressal: Any complaints and queries can be addressed and resolved
quickly, right in the banking app.
Bank-integrated mobile apps offer the most convenient and secure options for your
banking and non-banking needs. The apps are extremely easy on the phone OS,
they take very little storage space and don’t save any of your information either. To
experience the best in Mobile Banking app, look for Union Bank in the Play Store
(Android users) or App Store (iOS).

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Mobile Banking and Applications
Mobile banking users are becoming more comfortable doing banking
transaction with their smartphones. With the increase of trend in m-banking new
users shows more confident in banking on mobile devices. India has the youngest
population of mobile banking users across the globe at a median age of 30, as
opposed to 32 in the US and 39 in Europe according to the research by KPMG and
UBS. Further, it also showed that the Mobile Banking users in India account for over
50% of its population today. Many banks have come up with their banking apps which
help people to make online transactions, pay bills, recharge mobile phones, etc.. The
top mobile banking apps are as below along with our own mobile apps and we need
to take it seriously.

Almost all banks have been building mobile banking apps for their customers, and
upgrading them too. According to Kern Communication Pvt. Ltd, a user experience
research consultancy firm, only 0.12 million downloads banking apps on Google’s
Play Store . Banks are looking at various ways to tap the full potential of this
unprecedented growth in mobile banking. They are using technology in a big way to
provide customers with the best mobile banking experience.

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Our app U-Mobile
Instead of having various disparate mobile apps, Union Bank of India, has
developed a new mobile banking app using which customers will be able to enjoy all
different services on a single platform i.e. One Customer One App. UMobile
functionalities can be broadly categorized as follows:-

1. Mobile Banking
2. UPI
3. Credit Card Control
4. mPassbook
5. Digipurse
6. Selfie (in case customer is not having any account with the Bank)

Extensive analysis of advanced features

a. Simple yet secure sign-in :-
I. Multi-factor authentication is a secure but time-consuming technology
that in most cases irritates users, especially when we compare this
method to authentication based on biometric data. Biometric
authentication technology checks physical metrics to recognize and
verify a person. This technology can recognize a person’s voice, typing
rhythm, and even gestures. Yet many other characteristics can be used
too. For instance, Wells Fargo has launched an eye scanning verification
feature in its mobile app for corporate customers. To be recognized, a
user has to look at the camera. The program doesn’t scan the iris, as you
might think; instead, it focuses on the pattern of blood vessels in the eye,
which is also unique for every person.
II. As you might think, above features needs high end mobile phones but
actually it is not true. Even the phone which costs 100 bucks can utilize
this feature.
III. As a service provider we may not want to force our customers to use a
particular technology that we offer, rather we can give him an option to
choose the method of signing in e.g,

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 b. Bank account management:-

I. With a bank account management feature, users can monitor their cards
and bank accounts, check their balances and transaction histories, and
make money transfers.

II. This list could be extended. ABN AMRO, a large bank in the Netherlands,
added some unique features to their accounts tab along with the usual
ones:
 Set a saving goal — User can set a desired amount and a time by
which they want to save it.
 Make an investment — User can place an investment order if they
have an investment account.
 Make repeat payments — If Users have already sent money to a
friend or family member, they can tap on a previous transaction
and send money again without entering any recipient data.

This advanced functionality lets users do more with the app without a need to
use the web application.

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 c. Intelligent chatbot for customer support:-

I. Providing the most personalized approach to your clients is the key to

your success. You need to make sure that your customers have 24/7
support and can get professional consultation or advice anytime they
need it.
II. An AI chatbot is the best option here. A smart chatbot can easily answer
hundreds of customers at the same time without making them wait in
line. Chatbots work around the clock, are always polite, and never get
tired. Wells Fargo Bank has benefited from its customer support chatbot.
III. Now, Wells Fargo users can get assistance anywhere and anytime without
going to the website. Providing the most personalized approach to your
clients is the key to your success. You need to make sure that your
customers have 24/7 support and can get professional consultation or
advice anytime they need it.

d. ATM Locator:-

I. An ATM locator may seem like a very basic feature, but you shouldn’t
neglect it. The small things show your care for customers.
II. In our app, we have ATM locator, but the problem is that, it shows only
the address of the nearest ATM. Our app uses GPS when we turn on the
app, so we can leverage this feature to translate that ATM address to
google map location which will make the way easier for customer.
III. Royal Bank of Canada has added a unique feature to its mobile app that
allows users to find the nearest branch or ATM with the help of Virtual
Reality technology. The bank spokesperson claims that about 90 percent
of users updated to get this feature of the mobile banking app and that
there have been about 25,000 new downloads of the application since
the new feature was added.

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 e. Tracking spending habits:-

Users can get more control over their finances and reach their saving goals by
using mobile budgeting apps and spending trackers. Why not consider adding such
functionality to your banking app?
We’ve selected the most essential features for your mobile banking app to compete
with the most popular products in this niche:
I. Saving goals:- Users should be able to choose among predefined
goals, add their own, and set a timeline for fulfilling them.
II. Customized reports:- Analytical charts are a great way to
demonstrate personal progress and motivate users. Users should be able
to indicate what information they want to receive and in what form.
III. Budgets:- Include a lot of spending categories and the ability to add
new ones. Customers should be able to set an amount for each category
for a week, month, or year and see how much money they’ve spent and
how much is left.
IV. Notifications:- Notifications can remind users to input data about
spending in the evening, show reports, and remind about upcoming
payments.
V. Scheduled bills and payments:- Make sure that customers can
schedule bill payments to individuals or businesses and choose the
frequency of money transactions, for instance weekly, monthly, or yearly.

f. Special Offers:-

Mobile apps are considered extremely powerful marketing tools. Since

2016, people have started accessing the internet using mobile phones and
tablets more than desktops. The average mobile phone user in the US spends
about 2 hours and 35 minutes a day using their device. Zenith, an ROI agency,
predicts global growth in mobile ad spending to more than $72 million by 2020
while spending on desktop internet ads simultaneously declines by $2 million.

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 With the help of highly personalized offers, discounts, and coupons that
customers receive only via your mobile banking app, you can build a viable
engagement campaign to attract even non-customers interested in these
offers.
HDFC Bank has launched its Payzapp app, which collaborates with thousands
of establishments from restaurants and shops to hotels and educational
courses. The network covers the whole India and provides users with coupons
and cash back rewards.
This approach leads to higher customer engagement and gives users an extra
reason to open your banking app.

g. Non-Traditional Services:-

I. A banking app today can extend its functionality to become even

handier and more productive. Some of the newest online banking
features include purchasing tickets, hailing taxis, booking tables, and
ordering flowers. Through a banking app, customers can make secure
payments without logging in anywhere else.
II. Bank Zachodni WBK in Poland has attracted a lot of new customers by
offering non-traditional services like paying for public transport,
shopping, and ordering taxis in its mobile application.
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 III.Non-traditional services are very effective if these features of a banking
application work correctly and help people get things done in a few
clicks.
h. Shared Finance Features:-

I. As Visa suggests, if you want to attract Millennials, you need to focus on

budgeting tools. Apart from the budget planning features that we’ve
mentioned above, you can also consider bill splitting functionality to
attract more younger customers.
II. As an example, you can check out the Liv. mobile banking app from
Emirates NBD. The app offers a simple yet convenient feature to split
bills among friends. All a user has to do is input a sum and indicate the
number of people they want to split the bill with.
III. The Liv. app allows users to send money requests via several social
channels. What’s more, it also informs users when friends have paid,
making it even more convenient.

Conclusion
Mobile technology is transforming the banking industry in worldwide by providing
convenience to banking customers and offering new services to the unbanked
customers in emerging market of India. M-banking is rapidly growing in finance
sector for the transactions and payment settlement. For this all stakeholders like
Regulators, Govt, telecom service providers and mobile device manufactures need
to make efforts so that penetration of mobile banking reaches from high-end to
low- end users and from metros to the middle towns and rural areas. Some authors
also described the issue of security on m-banking. The regulatory body RBI now
taking more and more innovative steps and provide various guidelines to banks for
protection of customer account security on mobile website and applications.
Inclusion of non-banking population in financial main stream will benefit all. There
is also need to generate awareness about the mobile banking so that more and
more people use it for their benefit.
-

--Sunil Kumar Garnayak--

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 References
https://rubygarage.org
Mobile banking journal by Nisha Rupinder
Google play comments
International banking apps

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 Questionnaire
Kindly provide your free, frank & honest opinion for the purpose of research on
“Study on new features to be added in our mobile apps”
1 What secure login feature you want to see in u-mobile?
o Fingerprint
o Iris scanner
o Voice recognition
o Handwriting

2 Are customers aware of our app?

o Yes
o No, if no then provide the reason.

3 Is our staff aware of the use of our app?

o Yes
o No, if no then provide the reason.

4 Is the current features of our app is displayed in branch?

o Yes
o No, if no then provide the reason.

5 Does the customer buy stuffs online ?

o Yes, if yes then which sites are used frequently.
o No

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