Each year, CU 2.0 recognizes the fintechs that have improved credit union technology and the member experience. For our first annual awards in 2021, we honor those that transformed the credit union mobile banking experience.
In 2021, CU 2.0 has selected the following companies for their work in mobile banking:
- Winner: BankingON
- Runners up: Otomo*, Narmi, Apiture
Read on to see why we chose each fintech—and the value they bring to credit unions.
See all Fintech 2.0 Award winners here.
Why the Mobile Banking Experience Is Key
89% of consumers use mobile banking. 70% consider mobile banking their primary banking channel.
That means most members will visit your mobile app more than they’ll visit their local branch. Your app is now the front door to your credit union. The member experience must deliver.
Most credit union mobile banking apps are years behind market leaders. The UI is clunky, and the UX is slow, confusing, and unintuitive. Often, there’s no biometric ID, meaning credit unions lack a key security feature that’s been around for a decade.
And most credit union mobile banking apps are web apps instead of native mobile apps. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. It means you’re shoehorning a desktop app into a mobile device… and giving up many features that make mobile more popular than desktop banking.
About Our Winners
It’s difficult to choose winners when so many fintechs are contributing to this space. For us, it came down to an emphasis in three areas:
- Mobile banking UI and UX;
- Accessibility to credit unions; and
- Mission and roadmap.
BankingON wins the first Fintech 2.0 Award in Mobile Banking Experience. BankingON turns legacy mobile banking platforms into mobile native, 5-star apps. Their calling is to perfect the mobile banking experience. For members, this means getting a mobile app that rivals the convenience and intuitiveness of any big bank or challenger bank. For credit unions and their leaders, it means having a hub for mobile innovation to differentiate their brand and gain control of the roadmap.
The end results? Faster integrations, more vendor independence, and strong security and compliance. BankingON brings in everything from gestural controls, to easier menus and navigation, to faster loading times.
When it comes to full-service mobile banking apps, BankingON is helping to lead the charge into a better member experience.
Most banking apps are designed by engineers. But BankingON leads with design and the user experience (UX) to keep things simple, convenient, and intuitive. Their platform brings in everything from gestural controls, to easier menus and navigation, to faster loading times. Thus, by combining UX and current mobile technology, BankingON fills a major gap that few other vendors address.
Our runners up include:
- Otomo*. There’s no asterisk by their name, but they were also featured in our list for Member-Facing Tech, and we wanted to call it out. Otomo is a self-driving finance app that integrates into credit union mobile environments. Otomo brings in elements of popular consumer apps such as Pinterest, Acorns, AirBnB, and more to offer the feel of a truly market-leading social or finance app. The UI is simple, and the UX is easy and intuitive. Otomo isn’t a standalone mobile banking app, but it deserves recognition here as a self-driving finance app and an incredible opportunity for mobile member experience. We promise we’ll do a deeper dive into what makes them tick soon!
- Narmi. Narmi offers a fantastic mobile banking app with a bunch of very cool features. But, if we were to choose one thing that really makes them stand out, it would be their inclusion of a “FinTech Marketplace” within their app. They make integrations easy, allowing credit unions and members to use popular apps like Billshark, Lemonade, and Booking.com, all from their app. Add in a few self-driving finance features like those offered by Otomo, and you have a great mobile banking experience!
- Apiture. Apiture provides a simple, go-to online and mobile solution for credit unions. But there are two things we really like about their platform. First, their platform is turnkey, so even credit unions without extra development bandwidth can get up and running quickly. Second, they’re core agnostic. While their mobile banking app is clean, attractive, and easy to use, we want to honor how accessible they’ve made their technology to credit unions as well as their members.
Other Fintech 2.0 Award Winners
CU 2.0 also recognizes fintech leaders in conversational banking and member-facing technology. See the other winners and runners up here!
