Modern finance and mobile banking are inseparable. Mobile banking itself continues to evolve rapidly in tandem with emerging technological advancements. You’re probably reading this article from your smartphone. One could say the same of as many other people as are around you right now.
However, part of the beauty of technologies such as the smartphone is that much of our everyday activities are now possible on them. Banking is only one of these.
Yet, it’s so crucial that financial organizations are doing everything within their power to improve the adoption and integration of mobile banking services.
Developing robust mobile banking software enables organizations to meet endless customer requirements by enhancing the customer experience.
Mobile banking application users can enjoy personalized, feature-rich, and paperless financial services. Even as banks offer improving services to users through banking applications, it’s essential to go over the trends that users can come to expect in 2021 and beyond.
7 Trends Worth Noting in Mobile Banking Software Development
Trend #1. Voice Payments Will Grow Exponentially
The global IT industry looks favorably upon voice-activated software. Users can’t get over the novelty of controlling things through voice-activated commands. Gartner predicted that by 2020, more than 30 percent of all browser searches would be screenless. Smart refrigerators now exist that accept voice commands to complete grocery orders and process deliveries. It’s okay to wonder if voice can play any role in banking.
Consumers are increasingly security-aware; therefore, more banks are introducing voice recognition as a means of two-way authentication. Intelligent devices such as Alexa and Siri are leveraging voice-first technology for private banking. Banks like Spain’s Santander have even gone the extra mile by letting customers transfer money, make transaction inquiries, or report stolen cards. These services are voice-only.
Trend #2. Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)
The Fintech revolution has forced banks to be more open with automation driving critical operations. The outcome of this is a distribution network whereby open banking APIs or Application Programming Interfaces enable banks to license their infrastructure to technology firms.
Card issuance, compliance, licenses, and payment processing are components of banking infrastructure available for lease. It’s a novel idea, but it’s catching on as more fintech startups continue to dot the horizon.
Trend #3. Fusion of Financial Services and the Cloud
COVID-19 has cemented harsh realities on the global economy, but people learned to do more online during lockdowns, including banking. However, banks know that cybercriminals have also stepped up their game. They’re now offering secure online services for next to nothing. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions are essential to ensure this innovation most efficiently.
Banks are rapidly migrating to SaaS to eliminate overhead and reinvent core services. The financial services industry needs to pick up pace in adopting cloud technologies. They need to go beyond their fear of data and privacy control to meet the stringent requirements of GDPR and PSD2 (Second Payment Services Directive).
Technology providers need to help to instill the confidence banks need to migrate to the cloud.
Trend #4. Growth in AI Adoption and Usage
Chatbots and voice bots are becoming part and parcel of mobile banking software. They work in tandem with support managers and look out for issues.
Bots respond to simple queries, send out news and promotions, and assist users with various queries. How vital can chatbots be? Since banks mostly understand the language of money, we can remind ourselves that by using chatbots, banks saved well over $2009 million in 2019. While that’s a significant sum by any standard, that figure should top $7.3 billion in 2023.
Whereas Europe’s Artificial Intelligence consumption could see massive growth from 2024, North America presently leads in chatbot usage globally.
Trend #5. Big Data Improving Fraud Detection
In an age of limitless commercial opportunities, banks and financial services firms are more important than ever. However, this presents a new kind of problem: rising security risks.
Forbes estimated that fraud losses due to credit, debit, and pre-paid cards would exceed $12 billion. Suppose we added losses from other mobile banking fraud types, including account-jacking, identity theft, or phishing.
In that case, it’s easier to see why fraud detection is a priority in mobile banking software development.
Adopting big data engines is a significant trend to safeguard customer identity and protect resources. Big data helps to improve risk assessment and offer a smooth customer experience with few bottlenecks. It does this in addition to minimizing the incidence and impact of fraud.
Trend #6. Growing Cardless ATM Withdrawals
No one enjoys the queues at ATMs, so banks have smartly responded with cardless ATM withdrawal solutions. More banks are adopting it, so users must be liking it. Your bank or financial provider may permit withdrawals in one of two ways:
- using an app-generated code
- using near-field communication or NFC
With app-generated codes, you validate transactions using a QR code displayed in your banking app, while NFC is similar to using contactless ‘Tap and PIN’ transactions. The big difference is that you tap the ATM sensor using your phone to withdraw the money you need. Nifty, eh?
Conclusion
Modern banking technology offers convenience, speed, and security to customers. It’s an encouraging observation, given that the industry isn’t always receptive to change. The days of lengthy, manual, and mostly unsafe processes are quickly finding a place in the annals of history. Modern banking software is certainly the torch to a bright new future for financial services.