Before we dive into an explanation of progressive web apps (PWA) and whether their appliance is fit for a banking mobile app, let’s take a step back to understand and acknowledge native and web applications and how they differ.
Web apps are usually accessed through the Internet and from a mobile web browser. Their code base is predominantly JavaScript, creating higher compatibility with various mobile devices and platforms even regardless of their somewhat older age.
Native apps are called native since they’re made for a specific platform and written accordingly. They tend to be faster, more secure, and aim for functionality rather than inclusiveness - precious qualities, especially for startups.
However, here’s the deal with PWA. Such applications took their web potential to a higher level and started to resemble native. This hybrid-like quality allows web apps to provide a better UX - granted, certain native features may be missing, but for the sake of performance and reach.
Now let’s delve into PWA benefits for banking. This “part website, part app” technology has a few nice tidbits from both worlds that can come in handy for banking purposes. The web part of it will allow the apps to be quickly ascertained in search engines. You can share your discovery with friends or save it for later, which is not possible with native fintech app development.
The mobile app side of PWA will aid in screen scaling issues. It’s their UI design that helps adjust the app to different screens and monitors, which will, in fact, prove accommodating for banking features that are prone to suffering from misplacement and cropped buttons. Annoying constant app refreshment and chunky animation are out of the picture as well.
The other prominent benefits of switching to progressive web apps are fewer-to-none installation steps and an efficiency boost. It can be incredibly beneficial for banking mobile app development to reduce and simplify the installment process through less loading time and smaller installation files. The app itself doesn’t occupy a lot of space either.
Another extremely valuable PWA feature to mention is the continuous Internet connection being nonessential since the server adapts to slower networks or even some offline work. Due to TLS and HTTPS encryption, such applications retain the security aspect of mobile banking, which is crucial as you trust the app with your credit card and personal information.
The financial aspect of banking progressive app development is alluring as well. Development costs are much lower compared to native applications, as well as maintenance and software updates. There’s also no need to search for specific language specialists.
With such praise mentioned above, don’t just take our word for it. Here are a few statistical facts from other companies in favor of progressive web apps:
The level of versatility in a mobile banking app relies on the set of features it provides. They must be above else well-designed, errorless, and relevant for a customer. The more unnecessary stuff you pack into it, the more you confuse your clients. So, here’s the list of six banking app features that serve their purpose to the fullest.
1. Log In & Sign In
Sign-in is essential for almost any application that requires a personal account and shouldn’t be too elaborate. At the same time, the obligations of the banking domain require sign-in to be exceptionally secure to avoid data and money theft. The user authentication can be either multi-factor or biometric if the device allows it.
Sign-in is perhaps the only banking feature that should be managed particularly carefully in PWA because their security is handled by the browsers. At the same time, native applications have the luxury of a more advanced authentication process.
Despite it being more time-consuming, the sign-in should be manual, not automated, to protect users from unsanctioned data retrieval. So, don’t forget the safety testing before launching your banking progressive application!
2. Account Management
Account management is the reason why people utilize internet banking in the first place. The most frequent features are:
bank account status
credit card balance and management - blocking and setting limits
deposit a check
transaction history, including debit and current credit report
money transfers - between accounts or to another user
For example, here are the most popular mobile banking features among Americans.
Common bonus features - ATM and branches lists and locators, digital wallets, investments, and repeated payments. The lightweight aspect of the PWA will ensure a more considerable amount of valuable features won’t disturb the smooth running of the application.
3. Customer Support
Even banking benefits a lot from a more personalized approach. That’s where customer support comes into play. We recommend providing a possibility of professional consultation and a couple of practical guides near the most complex operations, such as transfers and investments.
24/7 support can be managed through AI chatbots that are more patient and well-behaved than a lot of their human counterparts.
4. Secure Payments and Transactions
Online payments and confidential transactions have a higher risk factor, thus being cautious is fully justified. Fraudulent activity prevention is a №1 priority, and possible solutions for that are:
the use of QR codes for important transactions
account activity alerts
setting fraud alerts on a customer’s credit report
third-party security tools integration
easily accessed guides on a routine risk prevention
With its website-like section, PWA internet banking is more than equipped to manage all sorts of secure transactions and alerts.
5. Bill Payments
The ability to perform and schedule bill payments in the modern world is a priceless and time-saving quality of mobile banking that often gets overlooked. You can pay all your monthly bills with pre-saved banking details without extra fees and needing to search for the closest ATM.
Recurring bills can be saved as a template and used whenever the client wants, just by SMS or password verification. The process of scheduling bills can be separated into smaller pieces for convenience.
6. Push Notifications
Despite most banks sending text messages to their clients about critical credit card operations, push notifications are still very successful, with the open rates fluctuate from 30% to 60%. Part of their appeal is the ability to receive them without necessarily being present in the app.
Remember to include notifications control in the settings so that clients can choose the time, the frequency, and what type of messages they want to receive.
Delightfully functional push notifications in PWA are what puts them above typical web applications. They were previously available only in native apps, which significantly narrowed the customer engagement of businesses with websites.
Conclusion
While being a comparatively new technology - no more than 5-6 years since its presentation by Google - progressive web apps have established their beneficial nature for many businesses. The Internet banking industry is set to prove no different by allowing you to focus deeper on your money.
Lower development and maintenance costs, less space to waste on people’s devices, and features that keep up with a lot of native apps, are just a few of many PWA benefits to consider for your business.
If by now you’re not still convinced of the benefits of PWA for the finance industry - click here to ask our team some questions.
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