Dive Brief:
- USAA is upgrading its mobile app to provide a user experience that is faster and more personalized, with improved search functionality, the bank said this month in a press release.
- In addition to reducing 6.5 seconds of load time across the app, the enhanced platform will use machine learning to provide members with personalized information and solutions, including travel alerts, or a notification that a bill is past due.
- The upgraded features will roll out to all USAA members by June, the company said.
Dive Insight:
The San Antonio-based financial group provides banking and insurance services to military members and their families.
"Our members are stationed all over the world and we know they need a smart, simple, safe and reliable way to manage their insurance and banking needs in the palm of their hand," Ameesh Vakharia, USAA’s chief strategy and brand officer, said in the press release. "Amid the pandemic, we're seeing that mobile options continue to be the preference for members to interact with USAA, with an increase in our mobile app traffic of nearly 12% over the last year and nearly 10 million unique users."
Across the industry, mobile banking has seen a surge in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The proportion of customers using mobile banking platforms jumped 11 percentage points since March 2020, the American Bankers Association (ABA) found in a survey conducted by Morning Consult and published in October.
The upgrades to USAA’s app aim to enhance user experience, largely through personalized insights. The updated platform will include an automated in-app assistant, EVA, to this end.
In addition, the mobile app’s new predictive search function will allow users to use more informal language, and will reduce the number of taps necessary to make transactions; 98% of transactions will be accessible in one or two taps, according to the press release.
The new app will offer improved safety capabilities, including the ability to log on to a USAA account with fingerprint, face or voice recognition instead of a password.
"We are looking forward to further personalizing for individual member needs within the leading financial services app that combines a turnkey banking experience with insurance serviceability," said Ryan Barth, vice president of enterprise digital at USAA, in the press release. "This upgrade sets the stage for future implementations such as enabling artificial intelligence and machine learning integrations for digital offerings."
USAA is not the only major finance company to be tweaking its app ahead of a 2022 refresh. Wells Fargo said last October it would roll out a revamped platform this year, and will then launch a virtual assistant.
