Using your financial institution’s mobile banking app makes paying bills, moving money, and completing other fiscal tasks more convenient. The ability to do so much on your phone or tablet is a welcome development of modern technology, and the continued advance of innovation should place even more handy features at your fingertips in the future.
Biometrics
Safety and security are top priorities for mobile banking app users because one breach can mean a considerable headache. Strong passwords and two-factor authentication are great ways to protect against hackers, but biometrics are quickly becoming a go-to solution for financial institutions. According to NerdWallet’s Jeanne Lee, fingerprint identification, face recognition technology, and voice recognition are the more common forms of biometric authentication.
Many financial institutions already offer these security options to mobile app users. According to Spiceworks, a network for internet technology professionals, 62 percent of organizations use biometrics for security today. The increasing affordability of the technology will make it more widespread in the future. It could also lead to wider use of less-common biometric authentication like scanning the lines and veins in your palm, scanning your iris or listening to your heartbeat.
Cardless ATM access
According to Brian Edmonson, writing for The Balance, financial institutions are in the process of rolling out cardless methods for ATM access. This includes generating a one-time-use code that you punch into the machine along with your PIN, using your phone’s camera or leveraging location services.
Using an app to access your ATM may potentially be safer than a traditional card. Your phone has additional layers of security to prevent unwanted access if it’s stolen, making it harder for a thief to gain access to your money. By not using a physical card, you also safeguard yourself against card skimmers, which can relay your information to thieves.
All-in-one tools
One of the best conveniences of a smartphone is its ability to function as an all-in-one tool. Financial institutions want mobile banking apps to become similarly multifunctional to better serve your needs. Alicia Phaneuf of Business Insider suggests you can expect to see more apps with built-in features like money management and savings tools, and safe access to your credit score and history as the technology develops.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence will also factor into making customer service simpler and quicker. Edmonson writes that virtual assistants are on the rise with financial institutions, offering instant answers for pressing questions. As AI becomes more advanced, these assistants could even offer complex financial advice, allowing you to forego calls and in-person visits all together. Further down the line lies augmented and virtual reality — Alina Klichkovskaya writes in Medium that AR and VR could gamify money management and cause users to become more engaged with their experience.
If your financial institution offers mobile banking, be on the lookout for these and other innovations in the months and years ahead. Once they’ve become part of your money-management routine, like the app on your smartphone, you’ll wonder how you ever went without them.