The good, the bad and the ugly: Mobile banking in New Zealand
Smartphone penetration is growing exponentially in New Zealand (current estimate is at 44%) and the banks are leading the charge at the ‘enterprise end’ of mobile design.
Mobile is a user led behavioural revolution. However banks more often than not take an ‘inside-out’ approach to mobile design which leads to some interesting and variable outcomes. This is made more interesting in New Zealand because the big four banks are Australian owned and need to negotiate their relationships with ‘Big Brother’ across the ditch. Meanwhile, smaller, locally owned banks can be more innovative in their approaches – but rarely have the same resources to draw on.
It’s a mobile banking arms race and the banks are betting on quite different approaches to get out on top.
Optimal Usability is in the thick of the revolution in New Zealand and can bring a unique first-hand perspective. We help bank clients with mobile interaction design (e.g. ASB – mobile payments to facebook friends) and mobile usability testing (e.g. Westpac – CashTank) – often cross pollinating with our experience with mobile use experience projects in other industries.
I will present a thorough assessment of New Zealand mobile banking offerings against a clear framework of user experience and interaction design principles.