Most Indian banks are falling behind customers' changing needs on their mobile apps, doing too little to help customers understand their spending and debts, create useful budgets, receive personalised insights, get proactive advice, track their financial health, and monitor their financial lives, a new report has revealed.

Indian banks have a lowest average score in money management capabilities. In fact, no bank scored higher than 60 in this area of mobile banking, according to the latest Q3 2022 report by global research firm Forrester.

Despite improved navigation, most Indian banks still struggle to implement good search in their apps, such as when searching for app functionality or a particular transaction, the report mentioned.

bank
bankIANS

More Indian banks now display a privacy policy but this content is verbose and not easy to consume for the masses.

"Many banks struggle to design rich apps well. A good mobile banking experience strikes the right balance between useful functionality and great user experience,a said the report.

Mobile apps
Mobile appsIANS

In 2021, 72 per cent of online Indian adult customers said they used a mobile banking app for their banking activities in the past month, and the number going mobile-only is growing.

"New functionality feels bolted on to older parts of the app and often has a completely different look and feel. The addition of a plethora of newer payment options makes the overall payment experience disjointed," said the Forrester report.

The user experience of Indian banking apps has improved significantly since 2020. Many have newer, cleaner interfaces that are easier to navigate and simplify payments by offering a combined search of registered payees irrespective of the payee's bank.

"But key concerns remain," said the report.