The product was a success — one in three Intuit clients offers it — but it had its rough edges.
Like many new features of online banking, FinanceWorks was at first hidden behind a tab. And that meant a problem: Clicking that tab would open the application in a new window, and while the user was focused on that window, the online banking session could time out in the background (a security feature meant for forgetful Web surfers). If users still wanted to set up a bill payment or transfer funds, they'd have to go through the hoops of logging in to online banking all over again.
Intuit fixed that issue last year through tighter integration. Its latest software, announced this week, brings its PFM tools, as well as new features such as merchant-funded rewards, front and center.
"Having your entire financial picture in one place, making all key jobs more discoverable and more intuitive — and ultimately easier to use … will increase the engagement [financial institutions] have with the user," said Albert Ko, senior vice president of consumer solutions for Intuit Financial Services.
Jacob Jegher, a senior analyst at the research firm Celent, said Intuit "is moving in the direction where online banking is headed, which is a 'dashboard'-like experience that goes beyond a static display of information."
Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc. of Philadelphia has offered FinanceWorks for more than a year and began testing the new online banking experience a few months ago. About 44,000 of Beneficial's online banking customers use the new interface.
"It is very straightforward and transparent, and the ease of use is the most important," said Denise Kassekert, executive vice president of relationship banking for the $4.7 billion-asset Beneficial.
Kassekert said in addition to a clear, concise view of their financial life with the bank, customers' ability to make bill payments and cash transfers directly from the FinanceWorks home page represented an advance. The original FinanceWorks did not support payments and transfers. Today, customers "have an immediate overview of their relationship with the bank, and they can make a decision if they need to," she said.
Analysts said the changes reflect cross-pollination from Intuit's ownership of Mint.com, a free-to-consumers PFM website Intuit bought in 2009. Mint, which is used by millions, creates a dashboard of consumers' financial lives by aggregating customer accounts, detailing their spending and helping them set financial goals.
"The intent is to make the home page more approachable and more actionable for consumers, and it shows consumers the relationship between one element and another," said Emmett Higdon, a senior analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Mass.
Higdon said one of the common features of modern website redesigns is a reduction in the number of clicks that consumers must make for common things like bill payments, viewing statements or setting up alerts. Intuit's redesign reflects that, he said.
Higdon said the advantage Intuit has over third-party PFM providers is its support for transactions to be made directly from the home page. "It keeps the customers coming back to your site to manage their finances, as opposed to a third-party site," he said, where consumers must leave if they want to pay bills.
Analysts also said they were intrigued by the rewards piece of the new home page. "By bundling merchant-funded rewards into the online banking offering … there is a huge opportunity for the financial institutions," said Ron Shevlin, a senior analyst at Aite Group LLC in Boston.
