In the last few months, ABN AMRO (The Netherlands), BNP Paribas (France), La Caixa (Spain), Lloyds TSB (UK) and Skandia (Sweden) either updated their mobile applications or made improvements to their mobile optimised website.

ABN AMRO (The Netherlands) introduced two new functionalities by which mobile phone users can easily add contacts to their address book and can schedule future payments.

Both BNP Paribas and La Caixa are focussing on the expansion of their NFC mobile payment applications, which Mapa are seeing as a growth area. Through Après Nice, BNP Paribas are now also providing contactless payment in Strasburg. In addition, BNP Paribas have released a number of new applications for iPhone and Android. They also introduced a mother application which now houses all of the banks applications in one place and provides links to download the applications.

Likewise La Caixa, Spain’s largest savings bank, recently rolled out contactless, “tap and go” payments cards and terminals across Barcelona, considered as one of the biggest deployments of the financial services technology in Europe.

Besides the iPhone application, Skandia (Sweden) integrated the Personal Financial Management tool within their Android mobile application. They are also the first Swedish Bank to launch a Windows application.

In conclusion, this update revealed that most of the researched providers are all very much involved in improving their mobile applications or mobile websites a trend we expect to continue for some time.

One key highlight was that only two of the providers researched include information about their loan products on their mobile sites. Both the AA and RBS / NatWest include information about their loan products. However, none of their direct competitors seem to have made the step of including any mobile specific loan information.

As the loans market is less active than other markets at present, the success of mobile optimised websites might just offer that little bit extra to increase demand. So it is surprising that most providers do not refer to their loan products within their mobile websites.

Despite the lack of mobile attention by UK’s loan providers, an overseas financial provider has made their loan product more noticeable to mobile users. ING Belgium, have used the very popular Belgian car show to promote their loan products. ING Belgium created a car loan simulator within their mobile optimised website. This application allows potential car buyers to calculate personal loans, enabling them to finance their new purchase. Accompanying the application, beneficial loan rates were offered for the duration of the car show event.

Although UK providers are emphasising lower loan rates and responsible lending, the report reveals a gap within mobile sites and applications. Perhaps the UK financial providers should follow the example of ING Belgium and devote more attention to promoting loan products on mobiles.

Making us more mobile

First of all, it is fully optimised for mobile – using responsive web design techniques. With mobile traffic about to reach 50% of all traffic in the near future, we thought it was about time we got on the bandwagon.

Making us easier to navigate

The second thing we wanted to do was clean the navigation up. We’ve gone from having 8 top level navigation links to 5 – with 3 of them being focused on our services. We feel it’s much cleaner for first time users to grasp what we do.

Making more content work

Following on from that, we cleaned up our extranet pages. When we launched the last website the amount of work and reports we provide was much less. As a result of growth, we’ve broken the extranet into different sections making it easier for our clients to use.

Making us more visible

Lastly, and importantly for any business, we wanted better search engine visibility. There’s a number of things we are doing, but one of the key this was to tidy up our URLs to be human readable and search engine friendly. On top of that we changed our domain name from mapa-uk to maparesearch. A key reason for this is because it better reflects what we do – we have clients across the world now, so having UK we felt wasn’t an accurate reflection of who we are.

What’s next?

In the short term, we want to refresh the copy and include more imagery on an ongoing basis. This includes more multi-lingual content too. We’re also looking to share more of our thoughts and insights into the market via blog posts and news updates.

In the longer term, we of course have grander plans, but we can save that for another post! In the meantime, if you’ve any feedback or comments on the new site then please feel free to get in touch.

PS - note that our emails are still to mapa-uk.com for just now

Up to now RBS / NatWest customers could only make transfers between their own accounts, but this new functionality adds a completely new dimension to the app.

The updated app combines a sleek design with a straightforward user experience. In order to use the app customers must register with the bank on their mobile and then create a passcode. Customers are only able to make payments to payees who they have already paid within Internet Banking. This security model means that all the hassle the user faces takes place before they try and make the payment.

As a consequence customers can make payments in under 20 seconds – almost quicker than getting a note from a wallet!

1. The August edition of the report covered the launch of a financial literacy program called Ally Wallet Wise by a US based bank Ally Financial. The program aims to explore and explain financial basics through a free online course or an in-person workshop event. The website includes online chapters covering banking, budgeting, credit scores and each chapter is followed by a quiz
2. Monabanq in France is using a unique tool to promote account related products and services. The banks account summary screen features icons next to a particular account that indicate active and inactive features associated with that account. Pop up help boxes actively selling the different features appear when hovering over these icons
3. Swedish sharedealing specialists Avanza Bank have launched a new website which is available as a preview of their new public and secure site via a different URL. The new site has been developed through a crowd sourcing initiative Avanza Labs. The preview site is an unfinished version of the brand new site and customers are encouraged to log on and use the new site and provide relevant feedback and suggestions for improvements that would be considered before a final version is released.

Whilst there has been flurry of activity in the payments, mobile, NFC, tablet, PFM and social parts of banking, we thought that the three developments above are worth remembering! If you’d like to find out a bit more about the monthly bulletin we produce then get in touch. With the industry continuing to evolve, it’s guaranteed to be an eventful 2012!

Looking at stories behind the headlines, a number of change clusters stand out as being areas of “hyper activity”, compared to the rest. We have picked out four clusters in particular:

1. Mobile: the most active change area by far, with changes ranging from simple enhancements to web sites through to full on iPad apps. Every provider we monitor seemed to do something, sometime, somewhere during the year.
2. Social Media: also very active: intriguingly, each sector seems to have had a small number of players who have stood out as being more active and adventurous when compared to the mainstream. First Direct and Amex are two that spring to mind; or again Danske in Scandinavia, and AXA PPP in the PMI sector.
3. Videos:  month by month, little by little, but across all sectors, videos have been added to websites. From a consumer perspective these have certainly enhanced the customer experience.
4. PFM tools: although not such a high incidence on the dashboards, our PFM report was by far our most sought out insight report during the year even trumping our popular Tablets series!

What does 2012 hold?

Whilst it is likely that it will be more of the same in 2012, we are putting our money on more:

Tablet computing initiatives

Consistent marketing across all channels

Mobile payments (NFC) and social payments

Multi-channel user experience (browser, mobile, SMS, tablet, TV, etc.)

We say, bring it on!

Increasing their presence in social media undoubtedly remains a top priority for many of the banks we monitor; Swedbank and IKANO Bank now feature on Facebook, following in the footsteps of most of their competitors. Nordnet meanwhile have broken new ground, being the first Swedish bank to feature on Google+. ICA Banken have links on their Facebook page to their mobile services. They have also launched a new ‘customer forum’ on their website to make better use of customer comments and ideas.

Looking at website improvements overall, Ålandsbanken and Nordea have been the most active this quarter. Ålandsbanken has launched new versions of both its public and secure websites, while Nordea made improvements to its online banking services.

Existing customers can use Mobile Bank ID when logging in to either internet or mobile banking at Swedbank and Skandia bank & försäkring. This provides them with a simplified and more accessible alternative log in.

In the mobile field, Skandia bank & försäkring have become the first Nordic bank to release a new app for Windows Phone. Not many new apps have been released elsewhere but several banks have updated their existing ones to include better features. Among those are Handelsbanken, who have launched a version that makes it possible to pay bills, accept e-invoices and ensure future payments. Another new function from Nordea: customers can now complete some of their activities on the phone through voice commands rather than pressing buttons.

As for mobile web enhancements, the major ones have been made by ICA Banken, who have made it possible to send secure messages and accept e-invoices. However the biggest news is that they now allow customers to open new current and savings accounts within their mobile bank.

Where those developments take us next year remains to be seen; recent evidence certainly suggests further rapid development in the field, in particular regarding mobile payments. Much is expected from companies such as Payair, Seamless Distribution and Izettle.

The recent news that Swedish mobile operators Telia, Tele2, Telenor and 3 are forming a Swedish m-payment joint venture with the aim of providing a range of payment services next year only adds fuel to the fire!

Nationwide recently completely relaunched their Internet Banking platform as part of a wider IT transformation. The new platform has much of the same functionality as the old platform but has a completely new look and feel. The noticeable aspect of the new service is the ease of navigation and the ability to view graphical interpretations of financial information.

Another big mover was Barclays with the announcement of a new Internet Banking platform. This new service is not live yet but interestingly customers were invited to take part of a trail of the new service.

One trend we are seeing is the continuing standardisation of platforms for different brands. Alliance and Leicester customers were recently migrated to the Santander platform, while the difference looking at NatWest vs. RBS and Lloyds TSB vs. Halifax is now very minimal.

Perhaps the most exciting announcement of the last 3 months has been from down-under. Commonwealth Bank of Australia have fired a response to the slick ANZ goMoney with the release of their new ‘Kaching’ service. This application brings NFC payments and an array of P2P payments (such as payments to Facebook). This service will set the standard for mobile payments. Combined with the launch of Google Wallet earlier this year, it seems that mobile payment speculation is finally coming to fruition.

Back in the UK this quarter has seen a flurry of activity from two of the big-guns, Lloyds TSB and RBS. Lloyds TSB have been extremely busy by almost simultaneously launching applications for iPhone, Android, Nokia and Blackberry as well as a mobile optimised web site. RBS have released an Android version of their mobile app.

Selftrade’s CEO, Paul Greetham, has said that "over the next few years and subject to further FSA approval, we aim to expand our suite of products and services gradually, without losing sight of our core sharedealing proposition,” which closely follows the strategy of Boursorama, their French parent company.

So should the UK banks be concerned from a digital perspective? In a word, yes!

They offer customers a free PFM solution called Money Centre, which has a wide range of powerful features including automatic spending categorisation, budgeting tools, account aggregation (from third party banks) and the ability to build a true picture of net worth by adding non-financial assets such as property, vehicles and, being French, cases of expensive wine!

In addition to this impressive PFM tool, they currently have a new online servicing platform in beta test which offers a range of interesting features not yet seen in the UK. If launched on this side of the Channel then these advanced services would differentiate themselves from banks and specialist brokers alike. One of the stand out features incorporates social and crowd sourcing in one – online dealing customers can follow each other and exchange thoughts on dealing strategies.

What about mobile? Yep, they are active there too, with native apps for both iPhone and Android. These also incorporate elements of PFM by providing overview of spending by category.

So UK banks beware – the French are coming!

ABN Amro is the first Dutch bank to introduce an iPhone application with English as a language option. Interestingly, they also include customer satisfaction feedback on their website, making it possible for customers to weigh up different products offered on the site. In contrast to many other providers, ABN Amro offer customers the option to add another account holder and to close their current/savings account.

Another provider we started monitoring is BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas is one of the only financial service providers that have provided a demo for the deaf or those with hearing problems. The demos offer information about the public site, the login process, the secure site, email services and how to access accounts. BNP Paribas also help customers locate personal support services such as babysitting, elderly care, gardening and housekeeping. In addition, they promote Twitter as the primary customer support channel on their secure site.

Amongst the other providers we monitor, a variety of changes took place. Lloyds TSB launched new apps for the Android, Blackberry and iPhone, whilst Skandia introduced a new Mobile Bank ID for both Android and iPhones as well as tablets. Over the duration of the quarter, La Caixa were promoting their FinAppsParty, which was a mobile banking event. This event took place on 11th November and enabled mobile application developers to showcase their talent. For 24 hours participants developed mobile phone applications they felt would be useful to financial service providers.

All in all, a variety of changes were documented in this report, highlighting different areas of interest for financial service providers.

The report revealed several indications that the savings market is not standing still. Both ING Direct, as well as Halifax, updated their savings application by making it easier for customers to apply for a savings account. ING Direct created a single page application, allowing customers to merely provide a few essential details. Halifax on the other hand, extended their application process by replacing their one page application for a step-by-step application, with each step being loaded on a different page. Cosmetic changes have also been made to the application process to bring it more in line with the Lloyds TSB savings application.

Besides improving their application process, Halifax launched a new savings range in September 2011 and as a consequence a number of savings accounts available previously have been discontinued. Other than their new range, they also introduced a ‘Savings Prize Draw’. As a result, each month three lucky savers have the chance to win £100,000.

Various other providers are currently updating or have updated their internet banking platform. Alliance and Leicester’s platform has been integrated in Santander’s internet banking platform. Coupled with the launch, three new instant access savings accounts have been introduced.

Northern Rock made changes to their internet banking platform based on customer feedback. Likewise, Nationwide made a few enhancements. The Nationwide site looks refreshed and makes it very easy for customers to apply for new savings products using clear ‘Calls to Action’. Most importantly, Nationwide are the only provider of the monitored brands on the dashboard to offer a Junior ISA product.

Barclays also been busy having updated their savings homepage, which now includes a new savings finder tool linked with a comparison table of all savings products.

Lastly, both Lloyds TSB and Birmingham Midshires launched new rate tracker for bonds. Lloyds TSB’s new cash ISA tracks 1.85% above the Bank of England base rate for the first 12 months, whilst Birmingham Midshires’ cash ISA and 3 and 5 year bonds use the annual rate of inflation to calculate the yearly gross interest rate.

So as you can see there has been a range of activity in the savings market within the last 3 months. If you would like any more information about the changes or our research into savings then please do get in touch.

First and foremost, Bupa made the exciting step to provide quote and buy applications online. They refreshed their website with an extensive range of new features such as: online quotations, quote comparisons, product feature comparisons, quote confirmation emails and access to policy documents. Bupa customers also have the opportunity to star in their own TV show through the Bupa By You advert. Bupa is not the only Private Medical Provider that made changes to features offered online. Health-on-line improved the design and layout of their quote confirmation pages.

PruHealth have not been lagging behind either. They created awareness by sponsoring the National Trust’s first ever walking festival and introduced a prize draw for new customers. The prize draw allows customers to win 1 million Nectar points if they join PruHealth between 11th November and 8th December. Nevertheless, existing customers are not forgotten, as new Vitality benefits are offered to PruHealth members from 1st January 2012 onwards.

Another interesting new feature in the world of Private Medical Insurance, is the comparison site offered by Tesco. This site enables customers to compare different health insurance products between different providers.

Lastly, Exeter Family Friendly focussed on offering a more understandable product. Its ‘Health Choices for Me’ plan has been designed following a series of focus groups with advisers and is aimed at being simpler to understand than those currently on the market.

In conclusion, there are some interesting changes taking place; providers are launching and updating features on their website on an ongoing basis and more attention is being devoted to building awareness in order to attract more customers.

A notable trend was the increase in video marketing amongst the mortgage providers, with many of them adding videos to their websites to help convey facts and guidance about their products and services. Lloyds TSB, Northern Rock, Yorkshire Building Society, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland were amongst the mortgage companies that have video content active on their websites.

Video marketing is an increasing trend amongst online retailers. People prefer to find video answers to their questions, if the alternative is browsing through pages and pages of text. It is perhaps no surprise that mortgage companies should use video as a help tool as mortgage products and processes can be complex and therefore video can help better convey information to their customers. A video can be incredibly succinct and consequently a great selling tool.

Recent research shows that by adding video to your website means you are significantly more likely to convert a "browser" into a paying customer. Equally whilst only a small minority of visitors will read onsite explanatory text; a huge majority will consume the same text when it is delivered by video. Finally from a general website viewpoint video can also increase a web page's likelihood for a front-page Google search result.

With all this in mind it's not surprising that mortgage companies have woken up to the benefits of video marketing and we predict we will be seeing more and better videos on mortgage sites over the coming months.

PS - There's also a bit on Backbase too (we're not affiliated with either Backbase or Brett King btw)

It's always interesting recruiting people, it's like a sales meeting but not, because they're not buying and you're not really selling, but you've still got to get the benefits over of what the company does. We also wanted to get across to the potential hires some of the exciting things we're doing over the next year and a half like new services, a new website, new people - so there's a lot to talk about!

Since we've spent a good bit talking in the last few months, we wanted to share some of what we've been saying - especially to those who are not so familiar with us:

What is it Mapa do?

Mapa help financial services companies monitor the online and mobile banking markets across the globe. We're often described as the "eyes and ears" of the market. Put another way; we're a research company - and do both market and competitor research within financial services.

On top of that we're also a consultancy, so we provide advice at tactical and strategic levels to banks. The advice is based on "what" is going on in the market today. We primarily follow the UK, Scandinavian, Benelux, French, Spanish, American, Canadian and Australian markets. We've also done work in south American and Asian markets. Not bad going, we think!

The different ways that we do this is split into three main areas:

• Consultancy services - one-off projects normally based on a brief
• Research services - scheduled reports and ongoing monitoring
• Workshops - group or cross-department presentations, team workshops and peer-to-peer exchanges

These services are provided off the back of running real bank accounts across the globe. This is a completely unique proposition that we've worked hard at developing since we started in 1998.

Whilst people use our services at different times and for different reasons, what we do tends to provide support:

• At the start of a project (building the business case)
• On an ongoing basis (to keep ahead of competitors)
• At the end of a project (to re-evaluate your position)

The final thing that we're always really keen to get across to prospective clients or potential hires is that our work and advice is completely independent. And that is always highly appreciated by clients.

Where is it Mapa is going?

Around 6 years ago we started investigating the international market. We had a model in the UK that was working and we wanted to take it abroad. Our second home is now Sweden, but we're constantly going to other Scandinavian countries and the Benelux region. Some of the lucky ones get to go to New York too!

Ultimately, we're not going to disclose all our plans for the future, but we're keen to keep growing the international side of the business for the good of all our clients. With the online market still in overdrive, we feel that we're well placed to be the "eyes and ears" not just in one market, but in many.

So watch this space!

What do you do if you want to find out more?

Ok, shameful promotion here... but if you want to find out more about the research and consultancy services in your market or abroad then send an email to either ross@mapa-uk.com or mark@mapa-uk.com or just call and ask for them on +44 207 727 3130. You'll be guaranteed to learn something new if nothing else!

Shameful promotion over

One major change is that American Express has updated its website with the main navigation being refreshed both on the public site and the secure login area. Whilst this is mostly cosmetic in nature, functionality changes have also been made within IB. A few significant changes include:

• Customers can now query a transaction through a new 3 step process, where previously a transaction could only be queried online by sending a secure message
• A refreshed Credit Card application that has seen the one page dynamic online application being replaced by a step by step process where each step of the application process appears on a different page
• The introduction and promotion of online surveys to users

It's clearly been very busy at American Express!

Other developments this quarter have seen Asda Financial Services remove the controversial Payment Protection Insurance from its online Credit Card application, whereas American Express has started offering Lifestyle Repayment Protection Insurance.

Barclaycard has also been busy with changes to its online application on the public site plus some other developments like the new comparison tool. The new tool allows users to choose between cards belonging to a particular category and/or with a specific credit rating requirement. A maximum of four cards can then be clicked and compared on the comparison grid displayed on the page. Barclaycard Egg

The dashboard also recorded a significant development related to the sale of the Egg Credit Cards business to Barclaycard. Existing Egg customers are being sent a new Barclaycard Credit Card and PIN which can be used from 7th November 2011. Related information can be found both on the Egg and Barclaycard websites.

One final point of note is that MBNA is no longer offering MBNA only branded Credit Cards on their website. Only third party branded Credit Cards are currently being offered on the site. Applicants clicking on the ‘Apply now’ tab are directed to individually branded online Credit Card applications. All-in-all it has been an active quarter within Credit Cards! For full access to all the changes this quarter and over the last 12 months you can subscribe to the Credit Card Dashboard.

Both high-street banks and niche players have continued to improve their offerings both when it comes to platforms (most banks now offer mobile web, iPhone and Android apps) and in terms of functionality.

At the present moment a set standard doesn’t exist in terms of navigation, look and feel. Everyone is still very much exploring options - similar to the early days of internet.

From a customer perspective it is clear that quick and easy access to the service is a key priority. This year both SEB and Danske Bank have responded to customer complaints and introduced a simple login option (previously requiring token ring authentication).

Using camera functionality for incorporating paper bill data to the payment process is something Danske Bank placed at the heart of their marketing and PR campaign in the beginning of the year when launching their mobile apps. Some say it is more of a gimmick feature, some think it is quite neat and useful – the jury is still out there. Building on this SEB introduced the same feature during summer.

A lot of the new features introduced over the last 12 months relate to transfers and payments; both SEB, Swedbank, Skandia- and ICA Banken (see screenshot) have introduced external and / or bill payments and also the option to sign eBills.

Access to sharedealing services on the go, in the summer cottage or anywhere is something in developers’ minds as well. Savings specialist Avanza introduced their first app autumn last year and both Danske Bank and Swedbank have introduced the option during this year. Notably Swedbank have, quite nicely, built in a mobile TV section accessible before login containing investments related videos providing valuable insight to customers. Talking of Swedbank; the bank published impressive stats in the beginning of the summer announcing more than 500 000 active mobile banking users. Read more here.

In the shadow of the Google wallet launch niche player IKANO Bank have introduced an interesting app (separate to mobile banking) named SKIPP. After registration users can view balances and latest transactions on their loyalty cards such as IKEA and Shell. Users can also view local offers as well as receive push notifications on new offers from their favourite stores. In the future IKANO Bank are looking to introduce the option for users to pay with their loyalty cards using their mobile. Interesting indeed!

The customer interaction: becoming more sophisticated

Social media is just one of an ever growing number of touch points for consumers to interact with their finances which have popped up as a result of both new technology and new ways of communicating. Over the year we have seen a number of introductions - particularly relating to Facebook and Twitter. Each new participant tries to differentiate themselves from the crowd: whether it is offering customer service 24-7 like Nordea, or having more senior employees facing the public like Danske Bank.

Banks in general are more often asking customers for feedback on new products, services and initiatives. The way that information is collected is also becoming more sophisticated

• Web surveys are moving from just being text to for example include first draft designs of new internet banking pages etc
• New customer panels are introduced, used more frequently and banks also come back and outline survey findings and how they will respond to those
• Crowdsourcing initiatives are being introduced

The “boring” but challenging and central subject: pensions, savings and investments

A never ending challenge for banks amidst the propensity of consumers to go for short term spending gratification is to make pensions, savings and investments more interesting, compelling and not to forgetting – understandable.

Handelsbanken have recently introduced an ambitious and well thought through web-TV channel initiative. The channel has a 30 min program each weekday covering personal finance related topics, monitor and analyse financial news as well as interview interesting guests. The objective is to provide viewers with knowledge, insight and tips relating to their personal finances – all accessible via web, mobile and tablet interface. No doubt with a view that an empowered consumer is a more profitable one!

Looking at pensions – Skandiabanken have neatly built in Min Pension (My Pension – external site) so that their customers get a more complete view of their pension savings. Potentially this will make it more likely that the customer will invest further in Skandiabanken pension products.

From a legislative perspective it can be tricky for banks to provide advice online, but what about sharing information on what other customers like investing in? We quite like this concept, and over the year both SEB and Nordea have introduced information within internet banking where they let their customers know which mutual funds that are most frequently bought within internet banking.

The challengers: ICA Banken and Nordnet (among others)

ICA Banken have continued to widen their product range; you can now apply online for both car and home insurance. Their recently introduced student banking concept has also gained traction. Over the course of the year ICA Banken have been promoting financial products online in conjunction with their loyalty program (i.e. get 1000 bonus points when making a deposit to a savings account). This key differentiator has been actively used in the UK by Tesco and Sainsbury’s as a way of successfully winning market share in Financial Services.

Nordnet are continuing to deliver on their promise of adding new products to challenge the “old mutant” banks. This year adding unsecured loans - available to existing customers online. What will be next? Current accounts!? That is a challenge!

The future: internet banking relaunches, tablet banking and mobile payments

Exciting times ahead – I was thinking of being descriptive but will stick to short bullets.

• New internet banking services likely to come: Handelsbanken, SEB, Swedbank and Danske Bank
• User ability, user experience and personalisation being in focus
• Tablet banking: A lot is yet to come
• SEB:s Min Ekonomi (My Finances) app is just the beginning
• Mobile payments: will it become easier by replacing account number with email or mobile no.?
• Will we see a bank cooperated solution go live before next summer?

Make sure to stay tuned into Mapa in order to keep abreast with future Swedish digital banking developments.

I won’t be repeating comments made elsewhere I hope, but what I do want to do is acknowledge the phenomenal impact that he and his company have had on the world.

In our case: I mean the Online and Mobile Financial Services world.

I am not going to talk in detail about the devices he was responsible for launching, although they are of course at the heart of what we experience.

The reason that I won’t talk about them, is because they are not what sticks in my mind when thinking about Steve Jobs legacy. For me they are merely the agents in the delivery of a bigger and less understood impact.

Let me explain a bit.

The Retail Financial Services world isn’t usually one of high emotional content: other than if things go wrong where there can be a lot of anger. Occasionally there is some satisfaction but not really much “big joy” or excitement. That is just the way it is.

By contrast the Apple suite of products is, in my humble opinion, all about pleasure and happiness. Both of which they deliver in bundles.

By associating with those emotions, through the use of the devices, Retail Financial Services has at least got a little bit more pleasure and happiness.

And I for one truly thank Steve Jobs. R.I.P

The survey consists of approximately 2000 respondents, who are representatives of the UK population. Each quarter this panel of consumers is asked a series of SMS related questions in order to identify market trends.

Consistent with earlier findings, Lloyds TSB remains in first place with 18% of total SMS mentions. However, NatWest is gaining up on Lloyds TSB, as they increased their percent share of mentions by an impressive 4%. Their increased activity within SMS messaging, hoist them to a total of 16%. Lloyds TSB and NatWest stay well ahead of their competitors, with Barclaycard following in third polling 10% of total mentions.

Based on the results from the previous quarters, the trend for SMS messaging is one that is definitely rising. SMS services are an important tool for financial services as they inform customers on critical information. Consequently, Santander joined their competitors in offering a new SMS alert service. On September 16th they sent out a press release informing the market of their new SMS alert service. Similar to their competitors, customers are now able to receive alerts from Santander regarding their account balance and transactions.

The ING International Dashboard compares approximately 200 data points covering internet banking and mobile services between different providers. The report primarily revealed improvements of social media by financial institutions and updates of their mobile applications. 

Successfully managing social media is hugely important to the financial service industry. With approximately 500 million people actively using Facebook and millions of Twitter users, social media represent a large amount of influential online users. For banks as for other companies this fantastically fast information dissemination touch points can either be a bonus or a bane.

Financial institutions use their Twitter accounts to promote new features of internet or mobile banking. Likewise, customers communicate openly to the banks and this can sometimes be uncomfortable.

Not everyone is convinced by the new opportunity; in the fast changing field that is social Media will Twitter still keep its lead, or will it fade and lose relevance as Friends Reunited or My Space have. Who knows indeed? Only the future will tell.

Once again we have encountered a raft of new changes, from the major to the minor. It seems that the range of functionality that is seen as ‘must have’ is ever increasing. Tesco has made the most drastic changes this quarter with new functionality and a new design following the migration from the RBS platform.

Payments is one area where improvements have been made across the banks, with NatWest and RBS, Tesco and Metro Bank all taking steps to improve the customer journey. NatWest and RBS have joined Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Nationwide in offering international payments and Barclays are soon to follow.

At the same time we have seen HSBC champion the use of their Secure Key we have seen other banks back away from the use of two-factor authentication. Tesco recently removed all their card readers and Barclays are set reduce the role of their card reader in the near future. This divergence in approaches is consistent with the paradoxical nature of online security; customers want to be more secure but don’t want to use security devices.

Across the globe we are seeing many providers develop solutions for other platforms such as Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry, complementing their existing ‘hat trick’ of mobile web, iPhone and Android offerings. With many banks predicting that mobile will soon be their main channel it is clear that banks are looking to include as many customer segments into their digital strategy.

We are also seeing a number of emerging trends across the Mobile Banking landscape. Banco Popular (Spain) have followed La Caixa’s ‘mother app’ approach. That is a central app containing core banking functionality with additional integrated smaller apps (financial and non-financial) which can be downloaded separately and added at any time.  We also have seen the use of icon based navigation increase; with more functionality navigation is becoming ever more crucial.

In the UK we have seen a shift towards mobile web with Lloyds TSB and Santander both launching new services. This is especially crucial for Santander who have not offered a mobile service until now. Having a well functioning mobile web service is the best way of satisfying a broad range of customers - however, the absence of a native app may make it more difficult to integrate with NFC and mobile payments technology if the current trend (Google Wallet) is anything to go by.

This week I read a statistic from one of the IT companies that said “87% of people were concerned when entering their personal details on internet sites”.

I found the statistic quite reassuring! At least it means that consumers are aware and thoughtful about what they are doing on the internet.

Back to last century.

One of the early Internet Financial Services successes in the UK was the selling of Motor Insurance online. As part of Mapa’s involvement in this “Wild West” market, we conducted a number of mystery shopping exercises to assess who was doing what well.

This involved us visiting sites and entering data as if we were real customers. At the time a number of the sites we visited were not using encryption to transmit the data across the web, leaving it at risk of interception.

The reports were bought by the large insurers who were dipping their toes in these murky waters. They were keen to establish an advantage for themselves in this undefined and emerging market.

One particular report featured one of the large well known insurers not encrypting data, and their large rivals were not slow to point this out in the press. Things snowballed, and before I knew it I was appearing on a Business Breakfast programme to comment on and join in the chastising of said company. This wasn’t the BBC.

In a flash their PR’s swung into action and a flurry of media announcements saying the rectification needed was already in hand as part of a scheduled upgrade, that the report was historical and only one visit, etc etc. Part of their counter attack was to say that us releasing the report without giving it to them was irresponsible, and that it had affected their share price. How far things have come since then!

This month’s attempts by HSBC to make their customers safer online by introducing their secure key has reminded me of that whilst the endless battle being waged between Financial Services companies and fraudsters continues, some consumer attitudes have changed.

Active banking consumers take security for granted, what they want is easy convenience- because they have had it. So quite naturally a cacophony of HSBC user complaints has flowed out since the key has been required. We did a straw poll one of the bulletin boards and got a 78% less likely to recommend reaction to the introduction.

Luckily for HSBC, previous experiences of other banks changing security confirms that this will recover as customers get used to the new habit. So they mustn’t panic.

The message being that whilst we have always championed ease of use and customer centric actions on the internet; security is one place where we will always cut banks some slack.

A noticeable trend is that mortgage companies are more upfront with their fees & charges and are supporting customers in financial difficulty. Cheltenham & Gloucester and Yorkshire Building Society are the most recent mortgage companies to have added more prominent financial difficulty advice on their website. This has become a norm and all of the mortgage providers included in the mortgage dashboard now provide some kind of guidance for customers in financial difficulty and many are making the financial help section easier to find by adding it to their home page or main navigation. Cheltenham & Gloucester has added this as one of their Hot Topics. Clydesdale Bank has a new microsite “MoneyGuide” which includes financial difficulty advice, a budget planner and various saving tips.

Mortgage companies are now also making their fees and charges more prominent and easier to find. First Direct has added fees & charges to the main website navigation and ING Direct and Yorkshire Building Society have added additional fees & charges sections which are easy to find.

These recent updates seem to be a response to the current economic climate and provide greater transparency on mortgage sites.

Northern Rock has added a new section - ‘Video guides to Savings’ to their public site. The section currently features two savings related videos – One video offers Savings tips and the other video is a Cash ISA video guide. The Cash ISA video was added last quarter to the ISA related sections on website. The video titled ‘Savings tips’ similar to the Cash ISA video uses animation to highlight its content. A standard navigation link to the Video guides has also been added to all the pages of the website

Barclays are encouraging customers to open up a savings account online by offering them a chance to enter a prize draw to win holiday vouchers worth £5,000 every month for each month of the three-month offer period. The offer is also being heavily promoted on the main site homepage, on the savings homepage and within Internet banking.

As part of the recent Tesco Bank relaunch, its online savings application has been refreshed. The look and feel of the application has been updated. Intelligent FAQ ‘Ask us’ is displayed on all pages of the application. Customers can also save their application and complete it later. The supermarket giant has also upgraded its Internet Banking security requiring customers to register new login details. Existing customers are also asked to choose an image and phrase which will be displayed each time they login (thereby reducing the risk of phishing). A step by step video guide explaining the upgrade process is also available on the website. Is this the precursor of the long awaited current account one might wonder?

Where would we be without them? Probably moaning about the lack of innovation or innovation uptake!

As it is we certainly don’t have that problem as we reprise our observations of tablet computers and their use by financial services companies for a third time in just 12 months. The pace of change has been that great that we are confident we will continue to uncover exciting gems.

Before that I think it is worth pausing for breath and reprising one or two of the themes we uncovered from our earlier work.

Edition 1: it was all about the iPad of course. Here the app accolade went to Banco Sabadell in Spain; who through concentrating in building something specifically for the platform were undoubtedly the most successful bank in taking up the iPad challenge. A number of other banks stretched their iPhone apps to fit; with predictable results.

Edition 2: it was all about the tablet banker this time; and still all about the iPad. Our exclusive consumer research showed just how switched on tablet users were to Financial Services. Good news indeed and encouraging for the rest. One of the other interesting findings was how much the tablet computers were being used to save and read at leisure considerable quantities of information. Good for complex product promotion.

Edition 3: it will still be a lot about the iPad, but with more about other competing tablet offerings as these become more established. As well as updating the latest Financial Services offerings, we will also be inviting subscribers to nominate a research module or expert opinion piece that they all want i.e. on usability., and will add that to the outputs.

So let me end by thanking the Financial Services providers who have already invested in the tablet sector and to say to the others jump aboard and join us it is still not too late.

What is the Mapa Report Series?
Through the Mapa report series we intend to release a number of reports over the next 12 months where we will be writing about developments in customer engagement, technology and sales; just as we have for the online and mobile worlds for the past 10 years.
This new tablet report, is available for purchase now. More information can be found here.

Barclaycard has introduced their contactless payment service 'Quick Tap' which is UK's first contactless mobile phone payments service allowing consumers to make purchases on the high street using their mobile phone. With the launch of a new microsite the brand is using social media to promote its latest venture. The site charts the history of payments from bartering to shekels, ending up at contactless payments. A link to Barclaycard’s You tube video,“The History of Payments” - a mockumentary from Barclaycard,
is also posted on the website. The intentionally funny video shows how payments have changed over time.

American Express on the other hand has taken to Facebook to promote its Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card by launching a Facebook game. Players are given a chance to test their trading skills by trading gold in a fictitious market and stand a chance to win solid gold bullion worth £10,000

After launching Money Manager – the online personal finance management tool, Lloyds TSB has now introduced alerts for its Credit Card customers to help keep track of their Credit Card account. The free text alert service is offered to Credit Card customers who are registered for Mobile Banking text alerts. Customers can subscribe to two different Credit Card related alerts - an SMS notification when their statement is due and when a payment has been applied to their Credit Card account. Previously these services were only available for its Current Account customers. American Express has also made two new additions to its list of Credit Card related alerts that can be subscribed to. Customers can choose to receive an alert when their monthly personal spending limit is reached and /or when a suspicious transaction is detected on their account. We like the last one!

HSBC has added a balance transfer calculator to the public site. Website visitors can use sliders to enter balance transfer amount, current APR and monthly payments and the calculator calculates the savings that could be made by transferring their balances to an HSBC Credit Card.

• Whilst the average length for an online survey is 10 pages; the range is from 3 pages to as many as 53 pages.

• The most common survey subject has been regarding customer service and the interaction the customer has with the provider.

• Other popular subjects have been getting reactions to new products and gauging customer satisfaction.

Many banks use pop-ups on their public site or within internet banking, however, the most frequent survey requests were sent to customers who elected to be part of consumer panels, not surprisingly. Panellists are offered incentives to participate.

Now that we have completed (as customers) a good  number of such surveys we can certainly say that it makes a big difference when banks say ‘thank you’, and realise the time sacrifice that the customer is making. So don’t forget to add this to your next survey- beginning and end!

With active accounts across many financial providers around the world, Mapa is well placed to monitor this area. Subscribers to Mapa’s UK Internet Banking Dashboard are able to discover which banks communicate with their customers through the use of online surveys and we have an increasing variety of surveys for their reference.

Key features and highlights of this impressive app:

• The app syncs with your bank accounts to import transaction data
• Once imported, an account overview is provided, along with a list of recent transactions
• On the app summary screen account balances and monthly incomings / outgoings are displayed (see screenshot)
• The two key sections are incomings and outgoings - within each there is a spending breakdown by transaction categories
• The categories can be manually edited, and added as widgets on the app summary screen
• These widgets can be further personalised by adding your own images from the library on your iPad... a fantastic personalisation feature - household expenses contained behind a photo of your home!
• The app makes the most of iOS - it really looks great, and clever techniques are used to deliver help inside the app

In February 2011 Mapa produced a report the examined tablet apps that had been launched into the market. Since that time a number of new apps have been launched, and these will be summarised in a new Tablet Banking report in Q4 2011. To register your interest in this report, or to arrange a demo of the new SEB app, please contact Mark Pavan, Managing Director, on + 44 (0) 20 7727 3130 or via email: mark@mapa-uk.com