From facial recognition to cheque scanning, we inspect the
features offered by some of the world's most
innovative apps.
By 2020 it is predicted that we will use mobile apps
for banking 10 times more often than we will physically visit a branch.
According to a study by CACI Consultancy, the number of
branch visits in the UK is expected to drop to 268 million by 2020, while app
usage will rise to 2.3 billion.
With banking apps such
a crucial feature for our smartphones, you would expect them to be cutting
edge, yet independent banking research firm MyPrivateBanking said in a report
last year that most global banks were “not responding adequately” to clients’
digital expectations nor innovating enough, particularly for millennials.
While most have a “solid track record” for must-have
features such as an account overview and payment methods, they are lacking chat
and messaging, interactive educational content and digital tracking and
forecasting tools, the report said.
According to a mobile banking survey run by Nielsen late
last year, facial recognition software and cheque scanning and deposit
technology are the features mobile users most want to see in future banking apps.
But the future is already arriving thanks to some innovative
apps. We round up five of the best internationally, and inspect the
features they offer that we hope will be coming to a UAE banking app near you
very soon.
Chase
Chase has been voted the best mobile banking app
in the US for the second year running by MagnifyMoney, which has run the study
for five years based on user rankings from the Apple and Android app stores.
Bill Wallace, head of digital banking, says Chase wants to offer convenience
and “remove friction”.
The app
includes fingerprint sign-on, mobile cheque deposit and views of deposited
cheques, as well as standard features you would expect like a branch and ATM
locator and bill payments.
What we liked
Person-to-person payments with Chase QuickPay with Zelle,
which allow customers to send and receive money in minutes, transacting with 86
million customers of a dozen financial institutions.
User comments
Google Play user: “This is by far the most used app on my
phone. It's so easy to use and understand and not to mention convenient. Say
goodbye to going into the bank from here on out (unless of course you need to
make withdrawals).”
Could be better
One user complains on Google Play that online deposit of
cheques does not work properly as the photo of the back of the cheque tends to
fail, while another says the monthly deposit limit by phone (which varies by
account) is too low.
Competitors
Capital One only just missed first place and Citibank’s app
was judged most improved. In the UK, Moneywise has shortlisted Barclays, First
Direct, Halifax, Metro Bank, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for its
2017 best app award. RBS and NatWest offer a neat feature – a temporary
four-digit passcode if you are at a cash machine and realise you’ve forgotten
your debit card to get £250 (Dh1,200) a day out.
Atom Bank
Atom is one of the UK’s "challenger" digital-only banks.
Launched in 2015, it does not have any high-street branches and operates purely
via a smartphone app, offering fixed-term savings accounts and mortgages.
Current accounts, debit cards, overdrafts and instant access savings planned
soon.
It’s squarely aimed at millennials and Black Eyed Peas
musician will.i.am, a strategic board adviser to Atom, says it has a
“progressive” approach to banking and is trying to educate young people about
saving.
What we liked
Atom is one of the first banks to offer biometric security –
you can log in via face, voice or fingerprint recognition. It has gone for a
very simplistic interface, with floating bubbles showing your account balances
and a vault for your documents. Some of its features are purely gimmicks, such
as choosing your colour palette or having your own named bank after login.
User comments
Google Play user: “Wholly impressed, not sure what's not to
love. Very modern, good-looking app that seems to do what it's meant to do. No
issues with it whatsoever. Highly recommended for intelligent people”
Could be better
The voice recognition fails regularly.
Competitors
Starling, Tandem and Monzo in the UK, Simple, Moven,
Discover in the US.
iAllowance
Dubbing itself Piggy Bank 2.0, iAllowance is a tool where
you can set and track your children’s chores then pay out their pocket money
based on what they complete. You can even track screen time. iAllowance claims
it has been used to complete 20 million chores and pay 12 million allowances.
Start off by setting up weekly or monthly allowances,
savings and even charity accounts then add chores from a list (empty trash,
make bed, put away groceries plus negative chores like bad behaviour or talking
back) and schedule them. There are more than 50 listed and you can also add
custom chores. You can incentivise with stars instead of money – and convert to
cash later if you change your mind.
What we liked
iAllowance supports 150 currencies and you can mix and match
them between banks – so this is one you could start using now. You can also
turn on parental controls so your children can view only rather than tinker
with the results. The app syncs across devices and DropBox.
User comments
MyMacMommy.com: “I use most all of the banking features and
my second-grader has a pretty clear picture of his total net worth right now –
which is more than I can say for many college grads.”
Could be better
Usability could be improved – it takes a while to work out
how to set up the system. You will need to pay US$3.99 to upgrade to the pro version
for more than one child.
Competitors
Allowance Manager, Tykoon (US), GoHenry, Osper (UK)
Money Dashboard
This free budget planner for UK users aggregates all your
bank accounts and credit cards in one secure portal. It won best personal
finance app at this year’s British Bank Awards.
You add all internet-enabled bank accounts and credit cards
by inputting your login details. Money Dashboard then creates a read-only
service that allows you to see all your income and outgoings in one place. Most
transactions are automatically tagged – for instance, groceries or public
transport – and you can tag those that the app does not recognise or create
custom tags.
The app shows you what categories you are spending money in,
and your balances and spending today versus last month. If you set financial goals,
the budget planner can tell you what you are "allowed" to spend (for
instance on dining and drinking) or how much you can save.
What we liked
Graphs are colourful and easy to read. You can filter
transactions to view only outgoings, one account or category, or sort by date,
description or amount.
User comments
Google Play user: “This does the trick for me. I haven't had
any problems as such… but the team have been excellent at responding with genuinely
helpful information.”
Could be better
Not all banks and cards can be added. If you transfer
savings to an account not in your dashboard, it will skew your balances.
Competitors
OnTrees, Mint.com, Wally.
Bitcoin Wallet by
Coinbase
Bitcoin is still seen as the Wild West of currencies –
mainly thanks to being the ransomware currency of choice – but with one Bitcoin
today worth over $2,400 (almost Dh8,900), many are looking to transact in the
new cryptocurrency. The Dubai government aims to move all its transactions to
blockchain (the technology behind Bitcoin) by 2020, so it’s worth getting clued
up now.
Coinbase is probably the leading platform on which to buy
and sell Bitcoin and says it has assisted $20 billion worth of digital currency
exchanges. It is available in 32 countries, mostly Europe and North America,
although Singapore is included; you must reside in one of these countries to
buy, sell and create a local currency wallet connected to your bank account,
debit or credit card. But even in the UAE you can send and receive funds using
Coinbase or store Bitcoin securely in its vault.
What we liked
You can create recurring buys and sells of Bitcoin every
week or month (dollar cost averaging) to slowly buy Bitcoin, purchasing more
when the price is low and less when the price rises.
User comments
A Google Play user: “My go-to. Fees suck for instant
purchases... However Coinbase has allowed me to purchase Bitcoin with near zero
in fees when I plan ahead.”
Could be better
You need to take care to secure your wallet; Bitcoin.org
recommends two-factor authentication, backing up and encrypting your wallet,
keeping only small amounts of Bitcoin in your wallet and keeping an offline
(cold storage) wallet that is not connected to the network. It also warns you
to tell your family the locations and passwords of your Bitcoin, possibly as
part of your will.
Competitors
Coin Jar (UK), Xapo, Mycelium, Bitcoin Wallet by Blockchain
Luxembourg
Source: The National
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