AUSTIN, Texas-Interaction between mobile banking and social media is still in its infancy, but that doesn't mean consumers don't still want a Facebook-like experience when it comes to mobile banking.
"One of the things we see with mobile and the emergence of smartphones and tablets is that credit unions need to be able to offer that unified user experience across all of those devices," said Brian Abele, SVP of product management at Q2ebanking.
A unified experience means that the user's interaction with the institution is nearly identical, regardless of the platform, and Abele pointed to Facebook as an example of that.
"Devices are just going to continue to explode in various sizes and shapes, and when (credit unions) are looking at their overall mobile strategy, what happens when the Kindle Fire turns into a different size, or a new piece comes along, or a table comes around or a TV becomes the new point of interaction?" continued Abele. "A unified user experience is one thing they need to make sure they're doing so that members don't get confused about 'Is this the right interaction or is this the right app that I need to be accessing for my credit union?'"
Platform Conflicts
Abele explained that while some of those things boil down to a similar visual experience for the end user, CUs need to be making the right tech and design decisions in order to ensure that a unified user experience is possible. If CUs rely on different technology platforms for various devices, "then it could look disjointed, because you've got different pieces and looks and feels, and terminologies and account nicknames aren't consistent across all of those," said Abele. "It's not something to overlook, because it's something that we think is really critical. That's ultimately what members expect. They're expecting a Facebook-like experience when they go on their devices."
"Experience matters," chimed in Abele's counterpart Mickey Goldwasser, Q2's VP of marketing. "If it's cumbersome, members aren't going to use it."
Abele reminded that members won't be comparing the CU's mobile experience to that of other FIs. "They're comparing the experience to things they relate with, whether it's Facebook, LinkedIn or Amazon. They're looking for a really good, feature-rich experience."
