The 5 features to an exceptional digital banking platform

Digital banking has been a foundational marker in the massive shift from in-person tasks to digital channels in the financial services industry, providing consumers with unparalleled convenience and access to their finances. Selecting a new vendor for digital banking solutions is a complex decision for credit unions and factors beyond the digital experience must be considered, such as cultural compatibility, alignment between your institution’s growth goals, and the vendor’s product roadmap. A digital banking solutions provider must be a solid innovator, with a developer mindset, with a deep level of experience in order to pivot and foreshadow in a market full of fluidity and uncertainty.

That solid innovation is synonymous with a TechFin, a transformative term signifying a technology company that builds financial institution solutions, aimed at enhancing the end user experience—this type of provider places technology at the forefront, crafting solutions rooted in innovation.

The core strength of a TechFin lies in its growth mindset and proactive embrace of digital innovation. By consistently investing in advancements and maintaining high standards, TechFins empower their clients to stay ahead, offering best-in-class solutions that outperform competitors.

TechFins provide financial institutions with cutting-edge technology, enabling them to:

• Deliver an exceptional user experience, securing their status as the primary financial institution (PFI) for account holders
• Compete effectively against megabanks and neobanks.
• Architect their systems to accommodate future technological disruptions.
• Leverage new opportunities through informed decision-making.

To scale and maintain account holder engagement, financial institutions need market-leading solutions that are intuitive, relevant, and engaging. TechFin providers collaborate and partner with clients and other third parties to swiftly introduce new, trusted technologies as consumer and business needs evolve.

The modern banking user demands a seamless experience, regardless of how or when they access their digital banking apps. The right TechFin will provide a digital banking platform that ensures consistent, scalable mobile experiences powered by a single codebase. This platform automatically updates your mobile app, delivering the latest features and interface upgrades to end users, irrespective of their device or operating system.

Below are the five features that will deliver an exceptional digital banking platform experience.

1. User-centricity: 48% of millennials have been so frustrated trying to complete a digital banking task that they just gave up.

Usability is a critical element to any digital banking solution and the platform should be intuitive and easy to navigate. A visually appealing and straightforward user interface, enables users to perform tasks like managing accounts, paying bills, transferring funds, and accessing various banking services without any hassle. With an approach that is user-friendly, new users are overall satisfied and their learning curve on using the tools is reduced significantly. The right digital banking vendor will ensure that their platform is accessible and easily consumable for a multi-generational audience, including those who may not be as tech-savvy.

2. Security and fraud: Two out of three digital banking Americans agree that security and fraud protection artificial intelligence (AI) and customer service AI will have the quickest initial impact on their digital banking experience.

BioCatch’s 2023 Digital Banking Fraud Trends in North America report revealed that mobile fraud had surged from 47% in 2022 to 61% in 2023. While consumers are looking to easily bank on their terms, and at their convenience, the surge in mobile usage has pointed an eye on the increase in fraud occurrences and security breach attempts.

A layered security approach integrated into the mobile app is an important feature to safeguard not only financial institutions, but their members. Security concerns to be addressed by a trusted digital banking solutions partner include security account takeover, phishing, credential stuffing, bots, or payments fraud; while keeping a pulse on emerging fraud trends.

With these security safeguards in place, a financial institution can build trust with their account holders, assuring them that their financial information is safe.

3. Customization and flexibility: 44% of digital banking Americans wish their financial provider offered a more personalized digital banking experience, including 56% of younger millennials (28-35) compared to 28% of baby boomers (59-65).

The right digital banking solutions provider should provide extensive customization and control, enabling credit unions to tailor the digital experience to their specific audience – especially because there are unique needs and requirements of each institution and account holder. For mobile banking solutions, UI modifications can be made to match their brand identity, and custom workflows and widgets can be implemented to cater to your unique FI operations. This flexibility is essential for financial institutions aiming to stand out in a competitive market. A personalized banking experience should be catalyzed by the right tools needed for credit unions to build stronger relationships with their customers and members.

4. Integration capabilities: 59% of digital banking Americans say in five years, most Americans will consider their primary “bank” to be one that is completely online (no physical branches or ATMs).

To satisfy account holders and stay competitive, financial institutions must get to market quickly with new features and functionality. Banking application programming interfaces (APIs) allow financial institutions to establish connectivity with an ecosystem of third-party fintech vendors, improving the user experience for account holders. Additionally, banking APIs can be used to improve efficiency, by leveraging necessary online banking platform data to streamline business operations.

5. Scalability: 64% of digital banking Americans feel like too often financial providers don’t pay enough attention to the needs of their account holders.

Scalability is a factor that can determine the growth trajectory of a financial institution and is a critical component to a digital banking platform. The technology must be able to seamlessly adapt to changes in utilization, without sacrificing performance or the user experience. Leaders in the industry will have the capability to auto-scale their digital banking solutions, and instantaneously support increased traffic, delivering a more performant and consistent end-user interface.

Differentiating the digital banking experience

Digital banking solutions should be crafted with meticulous attention to user experience, layered security, customization, and continuous innovation. By seamlessly integrating with existing systems, offering scalable solutions, and providing comprehensive support and training, the right digital banking solutions provider enables financial institutions to deliver superior digital banking experiences and differentiate themselves in the market.

Alkami is the first to be certified for providing “An Outstanding Mobile Banking Platform Experience” by J.D. Power. Learn more about Alkami digital banking solutions.

Co-author: Molly Irelan, Product Marketer