With the rapid rise of smartphones, the expectations of a bank's offerings and accessibility have undergone a profound change.
According to new Citi research, the average consumer banks on mobile devices an average of seven days per month (10+ days per month for millennials) and the offerings on their bank's app will directly impact whether they are likely to stay with their bank the following year. And with mobile phones expected to be in the hands of two-thirds of the world's population by 2022 (according to a July 2017 Forrester report), Citi has realized an opportunity to radically digitize and redefine how banking looks and feels and create the bank of tomorrow.
To do so, Citi has created an innovative, differentiated app that puts banking in the palm of customers' hands that has fostered greater engagement with customers and led to significant gaines in NPS.
Through design thinking and co-creation with customers, Citi radically redesigned new capabilities for the Citi Mobile App. In 2017 alone, Citi is on track to launch more than 800 digital features by year end (a 300% YoY increase), including innovative features such as:
Some of the app's new safety features include the ability to file a dispute and track a replacement card within the mobile app, as well as a new "Quick Lock" feature, which prevents any unauthorized charges from occurring on the account with the click of a button. With this feature, although the account is locked, pre-approved, recurring charges will continue without disruption and, upon locating a misplaced card, customers can simply "unlock" their account just as easily. Since launching, consumers have adopted the feature en masse, carrying out over 1.7 million locks and unlocks in the past year.
Also, in December 2016, Citi was the first global bank to integrate banking, wealth management and money movement capabilities in a single mobile app. Tailored for U.S. Citigold clients, with functionality extending to 80% of all US banking customers, the new mobile features included:
In addition, Citi recently started offering PDF statements, FICO Scores, paperless enrollment, the ability to request a credit line increase, and view recurring charges all within the app, all with the goal of making customers' lives simpler, easier and better.
And Citi isn't done there. The bank continues to engage in extensive research and co-creation sessions to determine how it can meet – and exceed – the needs of consumers and set a new standard for mobile customer experience in banking.
As Citi simplified and enhanced the customer experience across digital and mobile channels, usage and engagement skyrocketed. As of Q3 2017, Citi experienced a 22% growth in active mobile users over 2016 (the highest growth rate in mobile users among top banks in the U.S.). Additionally, mobile app logins have surpassed browser logins for the first time and Citi's mobile app has maintained a 4.5 star or above rating in the Apple's App Store for over a year.
Citi is focused on simplifying customers' lives while defining the next generation of mobile banking and creating the bank of tomorrow (over 40% of Citi's mobile app users are millennials). With an array of innovative digital offerings on the horizon, and the resources to bring these solutions to market quickly through agile development, the Citi Mobile App is positioned to continue providing enhanced solutions for customers that infuse ease and convenience into the banking experience.
