Mobile apps are the touchpoint of choice for millions of Indian consumers to manage their finances. Forrester data indicates that 70% of Indian online adults with a bank account do their banking on a mobile app or website using their smartphone.

 A new report from Forrester reviews the mobile banking apps of 5 banks in India: Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and State Bank of India (SBI).

Despite the renewed push for digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Indian mobile banking apps are behind the curve on functionality; with ICICI’s iMobile app being the exception. Compared with 2019, banks have improved their user experience only marginally and lag behind in functionality. Four banks’ functionality scores fell; ICICI Bank’s was unchanged and is the overall digital experience leader.

ICICI comes out on top with a wide range of features and good UX design. Of the six functionality categories we evaluated, ICICI’s app leads in four: account access and management, money management, money movement, and assisted service.

Banks can win in mobile by reducing the cognitive load on the customer. This means identifying customers’ top tasks on the app and prioritizing features and design updates that support these. Through our evaluation, we found some best-in-class practices at each of the banks we reviewed:

·         Improve navigation with transaction and universal search

·         Use categorization to help customers understand how they’re using their money

·         Give unobstructed access to help and support

·         Provide relevant content that’s easy to read and understand

·         Reassure customers that their money and data are safe