What is UX in banking apps?
The consolidation of digital management services during the pandemic represented an acceleration in the process of migrating most activities to the online realm. And while the technology needed to sustain this transition is not new. Its commercial application requires certain design parameters that consider usability, speed and agility of operations.
This is what is known as user experience (UX). This is a discipline within information design that considers the expectations of users in their interaction with applications, platforms or any type of management interface. The purpose of this task is to establish usability and effectiveness criteria that are increasingly satisfactory.
According to the Digital Sentiment Survey report, prepared by McKinsey & Co, Spain ranks seventh in digital integration of banking in 2022 in Europe. Digital interactions account for 73% of total banking transactions. Despite this, the report’s data also points out that the level of customer satisfaction has decreased four points compared to 2021, specifically in terms of UX.
Improving the UX of banking apps
Improving the user experience requires knowing the user and the types of processes they perform online very well; from the most common operations, where they intend to find the information they are looking for or what happens when they do not find it. In this sense, it is essential to simplify the information, use clear visual elements and consider the different access media.
User profile analysis
The first factor to consider in terms of user experience design is the user’s profile. Indeed, a detailed analysis of the user’s characteristics – age, language, interests – is essential to define how the user will navigate a given application or platform. This platform must meet the user’s expectations in terms of speed and operational performance.
The better the user’s profile and particular characteristics are established, the better the result will be in terms of application design. The idea behind it is that the user instinctively responds to the design of the information: he must find what he is looking for before he knows he is looking for it, and the application must anticipate his needs.
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Simplify the information
Once we have established the different user profiles that will use the application and that will serve as variables to measure its performance, we must establish strict criteria to determine the type of information to be included and the main operations to which they will have access. In this sense, the interface should not be saturated with too much information or visually overloaded.
The most effective way to reduce the load of irrelevant information is to create a navigation map for each section of the application. This makes it possible to determine what the user intends to find in each section and to anticipate the most satisfactory answers. Reading patterns and search intentions will guide the user’s attention and provide a better user experience.
Visual appearance and graphic design
Regarding this point, most UX designers consider that it is better to reduce the visual pollution of the application so as not to overload the user’s attention with unnecessary stimuli. In this sense, defined hierarchies should be established by means of complementary colors -no more than three-, typography and its variants, white spaces and the balance of objects such as buttons, boxes and lists.
The visual design of the information should be oriented to navigation for both a recurrent user and one who is using the application for the first time. A good way to guide the user can be through visual signage effects that allow him/her to locate the information he/she is looking for or to solve doubts.
Experience of use on different devices
Finally, by their very nature, online management applications and platforms can be used across different devices. This represents a user experience in which the user finds himself in different situations in which he prioritizes certain operations over others.
In this sense, the application must be worked in an integrated manner and consider the different devices on which the user can use it. The aforementioned factors will not respond in the same way to the vertical format of a mobile device as in the case of a computer screen. Therefore, the visual aspect must consider the user experience of the different devices.
Faced with the consolidation of online management and digital banking, the notions of usability and user experience represent a determining factor for applications. Precisely for this reason, it is essential to apply an effective UX design in banking apps to improve commercial performance.
