How Mobile Apps Can Improve Customer Service in the Banking Industry

How Mobile Apps Can Improve Customer Service in the Banking Industry

By: TEAM International | Apr 15, 2025 | 18 min

Most banks constantly improve their mobile banking apps and internet presence nowadays—and for good reason. As consumers increasingly rely on digital solutions, seamless and efficient experiences have become a priority in our society. Statista's Consumer Insights states that 63 percent of bank users process their banking matters on their phones or tablets.

The BFSI industry continues to evolve and adapt to the growing needs of online users worldwide. With people's expectations evolving rapidly, financial institutions must go beyond basic features and focus on delivering a more intuitive, secure, and personalized customer experience. That's why we covered the most essential aspects that will improve your digital customer service through an efficient and up-to-date mobile app. Dive in!

More convenient and accessible

Today, with the internet's instantaneity, users have less patience regarding online services—they demand fast solutions and instant communication. For this reason, most industries continue to invest in optimizing their online presence to meet clients' expectations.

For younger generations, managing their finances through their phones is a no-brainer due to convenience. Among the multiple reasons users tend to choose mobile customer experience over home banking are:

  • Faster transactions
  • Easy and safer access with face recognition or authenticator
  • Fewer steps to achieve the same goal
  • Simple and fast payments with QR or NFC

We are experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence, and banks are not falling behind in taking advantage of this powerful tool. There are multiple ways of using AI in the BFSI industry, and Forbes, for instance, states that ChatGPT is an excellent instrument for customer service. With its natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, it can assist users with inquiries, complaints, and requests for information quickly and efficiently. As technology in the banking industry continues to fuel innovation, AI-driven tools and automation become imperative for improving engagement and security.

Another important aspect business owners shouldn't overlook is mobile app engagement. A well-designed, user-friendly app not only provides a seamless digital experience but also ensures customer retention. According to Google, 52 percent of users said an unsatisfying mobile experience would make them less likely to engage with companies in any other way.

Use of online home banking and mobile banking apps by customers

Cybersecurity and fraud prevention

The pace of technological evolution is much faster than users can comprehend. Despite the many advantages of mobile and home banking, 39 percent of customers name fraud and security as their biggest fears when it comes to digital banking.

For the same reason that AI is easy to use and access, it also becomes the perfect tool for compromising users' cybersecurity from ransomware attacks and cloud vulnerabilities to third-party exposure.

Implementing controls and policies to protect user data on customer service apps, such as face recognition, fingerprint scanning, in-app verification, and multi-factor authentication (MFA), is a must nowadays. All these methods help prevent unauthorized users from performing any actions on one’s bank account.

This isn't about sounding alarmist, but it’s always important to remember that your company's security also represents your customers' safety. As cyberattacks keep increasing in frequency and sophistication, we recommend having a mobile app development team specialized in cybersecurity or outsourcing third-party information security services to ensure your defenses are always up to date.

Personalization through data analytics and machine learning

Smartphones have become increasingly important in recent years, especially after the pandemic. As a result, user expectations and needs change much faster than many traditional banks can keep up with. As Forbes reported, 40 percent of users are willing to switch financial service providers if the online experience is of poor quality.

To meet these evolving demands, banks increasingly invest in custom mobile app development services to provide seamless, user-friendly experiences. Erica from Bank of America is an excellent example of machine learning implementation and optimization in mobile apps in the banking industry. It's a virtual finance assistant based on language processing that the company launched in 2018. Since then, Erica has helped more than 42 million clients, surpassing the 2 billion interactions milestone in 2024.

Erica has a wide range of uses, from requesting an account number and assistance with money transfers to receiving insights about managing subscriptions or understanding spending behavior. The key to its success is how fast it can help customers. On average, more than 98 percent of clients get their inquiries answered by Erica within 44 seconds.

Machine learning and data analytics boost customer service in mobile banking apps thanks to:

  • Personalized customer experience: AI analyzes user behavior, habits, and preferences to offer tailored insights and recommendations.
  • Enhance fraud detection: ML evaluates transaction patterns to detect anomalies and offers adaptive authentication to ensure clients' account safety.
  • Continuous improvement: The implemented AI can improve responses and service quality by analyzing customer interactions over time.

APIs and open banking

Some traditional digital banking platforms can be unnecessarily complex and inconvenient. Despite being around for years, if not decades, updating and improving these systems remains both costly and challenging.

However, this presents an opportunity. Fintech companies have turned traditional banks' weaknesses into their greatest strengths, driving innovation in technology in the banking industry by focusing primarily on enhancing user experience and maximizing benefits.

Financial institutions must continue dedicating resources to adapt to an evolving online banking era. But this doesn’t have to be purely competitive—there are significant advantages when banks collaborate with fintechs, mainly through open banking and APIs.

These tools allow BFSI organizations to offer advanced technological solutions without requiring a complete system restructure. Some key benefits include:

  • Managing multiple bank accounts from a single platform for a more seamless mobile customer experience.
  • Sharing data with mobile app providers, allowing customer behavior analysis to drive innovative and personalized solutions.
  • Enhancing user experience, making it more modern, intuitive, and efficient.
  • Promoting financial inclusion, from facilitating access to loans to offering tailored financial services.

By leveraging open banking and APIs, financial institutions can remain competitive while embracing innovation and improving the overall banking experience.

Seamless omnichannel integration

Companies must start viewing customer experience as a spectrum, as clients' needs and expectations vary across generations. For example, 75 percent of millennials said they would switch financial service providers for a better mobile experience. However, it's important to point out that banks cannot focus solely on younger generations while neglecting their other consumers.

Shifting to a customer-centric model is essential, but understanding a client as part of a journey to provide solutions that adjust to all generations is even more crucial.

Both multichannel and omnichannel approaches offer interactive ways for banks to engage with customers. Still, the key difference is that an omnichannel strategy emphasizes the customer journey. It collects data from each digital touchpoint, preventing customers from writing the same information multiple times, thus streamlining the process and making the experience smoother.

The rise of mobile apps in banking has played a fundamental role in shaping this customer experience. To build these seamless digital solutions, financial institutions often rely on experts who understand the roles of a mobile app developer, ensuring that applications are safe, client-centric, and self-sufficient.

Nevertheless, balancing human interaction with digital automation is a must. As McKinsey explains, around 80 percent of banking customer touchpoints occur through digital channels, yet human interaction remains a key differentiator. In fact, banks that followed up with personalized human engagement within 24 to 48 hours saw a 30 percent increase in sales compared to fully digital journeys.

For financial institutions looking to enhance their mobile presence, partnering with an iOS app development agency or an Android app development company can be a game-changer. These specialized firms help design, develop, and maintain high-quality banking apps that meet modern user expectations while ensuring seamless functionality across different operating systems and devices.

The retail consumers who use tablets and smartphones every day are the same people that own corporations and sit on boards as our customers. Familiarity becomes an expectation, and expectation becomes a demand

What's the next move for banks?

Change is inevitable in the tech industry. Adapting isn't optional—it's a necessity. One of the latest trends in banking is sustainability and eco-conscious practices. Sustainable banking isn't just about aligning your company with your customers' values; it also attracts investors.

s According to PwC, 60 percent of institutional investors report that investing in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies already delivers better performance than non-ESG approaches.

Integrating your business with new technological trends while keeping up with constant digital evolution is challenging, but rewards are massive as well. Focusing on user experience and consumer mobile applications, enhancing customer service, and prioritizing financial education will only bring long-term benefits.

The goal? Strengthen your connection with clients, anticipate their needs, and go beyond just being a financial institution. Become their trusted partner—the one that makes their life easier.

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