Several Founders, Co-Founders, CXO Bankers, CXO Fintech professional who participated in an e-panel discussion:
- Mr Prabhakar Tiwari, Founder & CEO –The MargDarshak Inc
- Mr Riaz Maniyar, Founder & CEO easy2lend
- Mr Shirsha Ghosh, Founder Torit Innovations
- Mr Ravi Shankar, Co-Founder & CEO, Active Intelligence Pte Ltd
- Mr Kamonasish Aayush Mazumdar, Founder consumer start-up
- Mr Rahul Guha, former General Manager-Marketing at Telenor
- Mr Vikram Panjwani, Chief Executive Officer at Anthill Spaces
- Mr Hemal Shah, Mastercard, Manager – Business Analysis
- Many other CEO/CXO Bankers & Fintech professionals on FIAKS Forum
Today, mobile applications are one of the preferred methods to carry out daily online activities. The selection of a suitable app for a specific requirement primarily hinges on the rating of that app. Another factor which drives the choice of the app is the durability of the app based on the type of platform it is developed upon. This means that the choices available to us are: Native Apps and Progressive Web App (PWA’s)
Nowadays, all financial institutions have a digital presence on mobiles. Based on the above parameters, let us see what drives our selection of these apps and the road ahead.
Ratings of an app
Both Apple and Google stores have paid app placement, which puts the app on top with a higher rating. Usually, the rating depends on the number of downloads and unique usage numbers. Rating is also seen as an indicator of the overall performance of the app and the satisfaction of its users.
However, apps with deep pockets create ratings by social media ads and Google ads. This can also be manipulated by deploying people to just rate the app. It may not be morally correct, but a reality in today’s world. Furthermore, most financial institution apps are similar in nature. It’s only which one you are associated with and use their online services.
On the other hand, a FIAKS expert thinks that in case of mobile banking apps, the rating does not really matter because if one has an account of bank X, he has no choice but to use the app of bank X only. However, these ratings, if sufficient in number, can be good customer feedback for product manager of mobile banking. Also, in the case of interoperable apps like UPI (innovative payment product from NPCI, India), these ratings can be very relevant as a customer can use this to decide which app to use.
Another FIAKS expert opines that having seen, known, and delivered this for many people, the app ratings are extremely important. It should be organic to the highest extent possible and seeding (but not fake). A lot of manipulations are done but at the same time, users are smarter. User frequency of use is the biggest factor. Not everything is supposed to be used daily. Real estate on the phone is a big deal to the end-users. Uninstall rates for apps are very high and getting customers back is an ever-increasing cost.
Native apps
A Native App is an app developed exclusively for a particular mobile device and is installed directly onto the device itself. Users of Native Apps usually download them via app stores online or the app marketplace, such as the Apple App Store, the Google Play store and so on. It is known for its optimum performance, including fast loading speed as a result of preserving battery life. These apps provide better user experience by providing access to most of the device functionality such as Bluetooth, NFC, and others. The only downside of this option is the platform dependence, cost factor, and frequent updates.
When one thinks of mobile apps, the first thing that comes to mind is of a Native App whether it’s for social networking, reading the news, or shopping. A Native App is developed to be “native” to a specific platform: Apple, Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry. The principal advantage of Native Apps is that they optimize the user experience. By being designed and developed specifically for that platform, they look and perform better.
According to a member, in order to choose a native app as the best choice in the current year, the following questions need to be answered – what type of app one wishes to build? How many change requests per month one wishes to have? What is the customer base for an app? What is the expected customer experience on an app? What will be the community support for the native app? What will be the timeline expectation from business teams? Are there any skills set available or not?
Progressive Web App
A progressive web app are principally Internet-enabled apps that are available via the mobile device’s Web browser. Progressive web apps are user conversant that have the reach of the web and are reliable, fast, and engaging. Another plus here is the low cost and no requirement of updates. The downside is that PWAs presently operate only on Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. They are slower and consumes more battery. Features such as NFC, Bluetooth, Proximity sensors, etc. are still not accessible through PWAs.
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