Opinion: "What does the future hold for mobile banking? Will we continue to evolve?"

In recent years, mobile banking - which involves using a smartphone or other mobile devices to carry out various banking activities and transactions - has revolutionised how we manage our finances. With just a few taps, we can transfer funds, pay bills and manage our assets on the go. However, the evolution of mobile banking is far from reaching its peak, as the future holds promising advances that will further transform the financial services scene.

Two years ago, the pandemic forced older generations to leap into digital, meaning financial institutions (FIs) had to quickly and unprecedentedly adapt their applications to the increased demand. As far as millennials and Generation Z are concerned, having grown up with smartphones, they are digital natives. This means that the demand for digital services will always grow to meet the needs of these new generations, who expect the process to be as easy as registering on a social network.

As time goes by, customers continue demanding new digital banking experiences, so we can expect that mobile banking will enter a golden age in the coming years, in which the most visionary will have the freedom to come up with bold proposals to drive the sector forward. In this scenario, institutions unable or unwilling to keep up with the pace of change will fall behind.

For the future of mobile banking, we can expect automation to be the first step in building next-generation integration, followed by humanisation. There will be an upward trend in the use of chatbots, allowing FIs to provide rapid and effective responses to their customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Machine learning and AI will be the differentiator for chatbots in mobile banking, and FIs must ensure that in future, their chatbots can recognise and adapt to their customers' previous behaviour to offer a fast and personalised experience. In addition to automation, FIs must ensure that new customers going through digital onboarding can have contact with a human at any stage of the process.

Another crucial aspect is the expansion of available services. Besides basic transactions, we are moving towards a scenario where mobile banking applications offer more comprehensive services such as investments, insurance and personalised financial management.

In the future, mobile banking is expected to enter the metaverse, therefore given the potential benefit of this virtual world, financial institutions should treat it with extreme caution. The metaverse allows FIs to carry out many tasks they already perform but in a new context. Payments, savings, loans and other financial services will be necessary in a reality where people buy virtual assets and digital property. This world offers new ways of interacting with customers since there is no longer any need for employees to be present in physical agencies to meet customers in person.

Cloud storage could become one of the biggest trends in digital banking. Customers will no longer need to carry physical documents or cards because they can safely save their financial information online thanks to the cloud. In addition, cloud storage will ensure that customer data is not lost or compromised, which increases the security of online banking services. Overall, this type of storage and online security are essential components of future mobile banking trends, thus making it easier for customers to access their accounts securely, anywhere.

In short, the future of mobile banking is promising. We may anticipate a dramatic change in the way we manage our finances on smartphones with the ongoing integration of cutting-edge technologies, improvements to the user experience, and service growth. This is just the beginning of an exciting journey into the next era of mobile banking.

News: SAPO TEK