With nearly every financial institution offering its own mobile app, credit unions have plenty of competition if they wish to stand out. The good news is that according to MagnifyMoney's third annual Mobile Banking App Study, CUs are consistently outranking the big banks in user satisfaction.
"Consumers and members are judging their financial institution by the quality and experience of the mobile app," said Nick Clements founder of MagnifyMoney, a New York-based educational and financial product comparison website. "You can clearly tell that banks and credit unions are investing in apps," said Clements, who added that CUs nearly swept the top 10 rankings for all apps in 2016, taking nine of the top 10 slots. "The ones that are winning are the ones that are better than they were last year."
The survey compiled the ratings of iOS and Android banking apps from more than 100 of the largest banks and credit unions, explained Clements. The data was collected from iTunes and Google Play during the week of November 30, 2016, with a rating system of 1 to 5 assigned.
"Data shows that the credit unions that might not have the best digital online, traditional desktop experience have been very wise in how they invest in app technology," said Clements. "Many CUs leapfrogged over the online desktop channel to mobile."
Winning Apps
The $3.5 billion-asset Eastman Credit Union (ECU) in Kingsport, Tenn. won the Best Overall App with a score of 4.8, which was slightly up from its 4.7 ranking in 2015. Vice President of Information Technology Darrell Dinsmore said the accolade was due, in part, to continued app enhancements.
"In 2016, we partnered with our mobile application provider, Digital Insight, to offer several additional features for our members," he said. App updates included smartwatch (Apple Watch and Android Wear), biometrics (Apple TouchID and Android fingerprint), balance widget (members can view account balances without logging into the app) and split-screen multitasking (certain iPads can run two apps at the same time).
"We judge what members want from member surveys, feedback in our service center, branch feedback, app review and by monitoring competition," explained Dinsmore.
Of the top 10 largest credit unions, MagnifyMoney found that PenFed CU had the best app, while BECU saw the highest improvement in its score, rising from a 2.5 rating in 2015 to 3.9 in 2016.
"This is the people's choice and is not judged by MagnifyMoney's editorial staff," noted Clements. "Eastman Credit Union's overall 4.8 score is remarkable — they have very happy members."
With 182,000 members, just over one-third (63,500) are active mobile users, with a breakdown of 57% Apple users and 43% Android users. Dinsmore said member app preference helps to define the CU's overall app strategy. The most commonly used ECU mobile app features are balance inquires, balance transfers, remote deposit capture, bill pay and biometrics.
"The least-used features are quick balance, which is mostly used by members who do not have biometrics enabled on their phone and smartwatch that has a slower adoption rate and fewer members with these devices," he said.
Lessons Learned
So what are the takeaways for credit unions who want to improve their mobile app game?
Dinsmore suggested listening to members' wants and needs, and being open to change.
"Try to offer as much functionality through the mobile application as the member can do through the traditional desktop browser method," said Dinsmore. "But don't be afraid to back out of a change. We had an upgrade that was not well-received and through our vendor we quickly made changes."
Clements said that in the three years MagnifyMoney has conducted this study, the one thing that remains consistent is that respondents are honest. They may love their CU, he said, but they will be brutally candid reviewing apps in Apple and Google forums.
"This is a rapidly evolving space," said Clements. "The credit unions that have done it well have chosen the right vendor and not tried to reinvent the wheel."
