Citi's new consumer banking app for the iPad boasts several personal financial management and analytics features that few other financial iPad apps offer.
On the PFM side, the app provides a consolidated view of activity in all linked accounts. A bar chart displays positive balances in green and debts in red. A dot chart shows individual daily transactions, past and future, which can be drilled down into with a tap. Lists of financial transactions can also be navigated with "slider" tools that take advantage of the iPad's finger-swipe feature. A pie chart shows the customer how he's spending his money, breaking down payments by payee. Another graphic shows users how demographically similar customers are spending by categories, such as home and health (based on anonymized Citi credit card data).
Citi and the design firm it worked with, Fjord, focused on ease of use and navigability. "We wanted to start fresh and think about how people are using this form factor," says Tracey Weber, managing director, internet and mobile at Citi. "The iPad is about engagement, reading and video, so we wanted it to take advantage of those things and not look like our mobile app nor our internet site."
The iPad app also offers access to other resources to help customers manage their financial lives, including content from Citi Personal Wealth Management and Women & Co., a service of Citibank.
Customers who downloaded this app in August gave it four stars. Most had positive comments, one calling it a "quantum leap" from the bank's iPhone app. A few had technical difficulties, which is not too surprising since the app debuted at the end of July. A few users asked for new features, such as remote deposit capture and the ability to transfer funds to external accounts.
Citi also has iPad apps for institutional clients (Citi Velocity) and its private banking customers (Citi Private Bank Mobile).
