As Europeans become more familiar with mobile banking, they use it for a growing range of banking tasks such as money transfers and bill payments. Consumers’ behavior will continue to shift as mobile experiences with retailers, airlines, and the Airbnb’s and Uber’s of this world raise expectations about what mobile apps and sites can offer and how convenient they can be to use. Customers across Europe now want access to their accounts 24/7, the ability to perform a range of transactions with only a few clicks, and the possibility to manage their finances directly on their smartphones. 
 
Yesterday we published our "2015 European Mobile Banking Functionality Benchmark" report, after evaluating the mobile banking services of thirteen leading European banks. Faced with a fast-moving competitive and technology environment, digital teams at European banks have striven to keep up with customers’ rising expectations. A cluster of banks in Spain, Poland, and Turkey – CaixaBank, Bank Zachodni WBK, mBank, Işbank, Akbank, and Garanti – now stand out as world-class, raising the bar to deliver great customer experiences, create new value, and engage customers in their mobile moments. 
 
Here are some highlights from this research:
 
  • The European banks we reviewed offer extensive mobile transactional functionality. Turkish and Polish banks in particular make it easy for customers to pay a bill directly on mobile.
  • A growing number of European banks, such as Bank Zachodni, CaixaBank, and mBank are offering contactless mobile payments integrated into their mobile banking app to let customers make in-store purchases with their phones. 
  • Digital money management will ultimately be embedded into the heart of digital banking. BNP Paribas and Société Générale currently offer extensive money management tools and automatically categorize spending. Postbank provides a budgeting tool to help customers control their spending.  
  • Growing numbers of mobile banking users are interested in at least initiating product applications from within mobile banking, and some will complete the process via mobile. Bank Zachodni WBK, CaixaBank, Garanti, Işbank, and mBank all let existing customers apply for a simple product directly on a smartphone app.

Forrester clients can read the complete report here.