Bank of America tops the competitive intelligence firm Keynova Group’s semiannual analysis of the best online banking customer experiences for the 11th year.
The company evaluated the 20 largest U.S. retail banks for its online banking scorecard, which was released Wednesday. Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase took second and third place, respectively.
“Banks are focused on transforming online banking user interfaces with options to personalize the customer experience with customized dashboard account summary screens, improved navigational efficiency and educational insights or offers tailored to the customer,” Susan Foulds, managing director of Keynova Group, said in a press release.
The trends that Keynova highlights in its report, including homepage personalization and proactive alerts, also point to areas where banks can improve.
For example, Keynova examined how easily navigable were the desktop dashboards or home screens, letting customers quickly locate the information they need. Half of the reviewed websites made cash-flow summaries available in one click, while 30% displayed recent payments and transfers on the home screen. A quarter of the bank websites let users make a funds transfer directly from the main dashboard — one of the most common post-login activities.
One feature on the rise is the ability for customers to personalize their digital banking experience, for instance by customizing the account information they want to see upon login. Currently, 15% of the surveyed banks allow this. Truist Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, for example, lets customers customize their home screens by selecting tiles titled “Goals,” “Experian CreditCenter” and more. Keynova also expects to see more predictive insights in the future, such as Huntington Bancshares’ proactive alerts warning customers that their account is at risk of overdraft.
Keynova also examined efforts to cement trust and consumer confidence, such as transparent fees and pointers about ways to avoid them.
In this category, Bank of America was spotlighted for prominently displaying its online and mobile security guarantee. It also got credit for fee transparency, including links to information on how to avoid account fees; a recently added “security meter” that guides customers through strengthening their security settings; and the interactive and the personalized Life Plan tool, which lets customers monitor their progress toward certain goals.
