Progressive Web Apps for Internet Banking

Before we dive into an explanation of progressive web apps (PWA) and whether their appliance is fit for a banking mobile app, let’s take a step back to understand and acknowledge native and web applications and how they differ.

Web apps are usually accessed through the Internet and from a mobile web browser. Their code base is predominantly JavaScript, creating higher compatibility with various mobile devices and platforms even regardless of their somewhat older age.

Native apps are called native since they’re made for a specific platform and written accordingly. They tend to be faster, more secure, and aim for functionality rather than inclusiveness - precious qualities, especially for startups.

However, here’s the deal with PWA. Such applications took their web potential to a higher level and started to resemble native. This hybrid-like quality allows web apps to provide a better UX - granted, certain native features may be missing, but for the sake of performance and reach.

Table of contents
Why Use PWA Technologies for Banking?

Key Features of Mobile Banking Apps

Conclusion

Why Use PWA Technologies for Banking?
Now let’s delve into PWA benefits for banking. This “part website, part app” technology has a few nice tidbits from both worlds that can come in handy for banking purposes. The web part of it will allow the apps to be quickly ascertained in search engines. You can share your discovery with friends or save it for later, which is not possible with native fintech app development.

The mobile app side of PWA will aid in screen scaling issues. It’s their UI design that helps adjust the app to different screens and monitors, which will, in fact, prove accommodating for banking features that are prone to suffering from misplacement and cropped buttons. Annoying constant app refreshment and chunky animation are out of the picture as well.

The other prominent benefits of switching to progressive web apps are fewer-to-none installation steps and an efficiency boost. It can be incredibly beneficial for banking mobile app development to reduce and simplify the installment process through less loading time and smaller installation files. The app itself doesn’t occupy a lot of space either.

Another extremely valuable PWA feature to mention is the continuous Internet connection being nonessential since the server adapts to slower networks or even some offline work. Due to TLS and HTTPS encryption, such applications retain the security aspect of mobile banking, which is crucial as you trust the app with your credit card and personal information.

The financial aspect of banking progressive app development is alluring as well. Development costs are much lower compared to native applications, as well as maintenance and software updates. There’s also no need to search for specific language specialists.

Do You Really Need a PWA?

With such praise mentioned above, don’t just take our word for it. Here are a few statistical facts from other companies in favor of progressive web apps:

revenue growth from organic traffic;
organic traffic
Source

raise in monthly user activity - particularly mobile users;
mobile users
Source

higher conversion rate and better page load time.
conversion rate
Source

These companies’ statements were mostly eCommerce since PWA banking is relatively new but promising on the market. But new doesn’t mean nonexistent - here’s the example of a company successfully developing a financial PWA.

Examples of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

Key Features of Mobile Banking Apps
The level of versatility in a mobile banking app relies on the set of features it provides. They must be above else well-designed, errorless, and relevant for a customer. The more unnecessary stuff you pack into it, the more you confuse your clients. So, here’s the list of six banking app features that serve their purpose to the fullest.

1. Log In & Sign In
Sign-in is essential for almost any application that requires a personal account and shouldn’t be too elaborate. At the same time, the obligations of the banking domain require sign-in to be exceptionally secure to avoid data and money theft. The user authentication can be either multi-factor or biometric if the device allows it.

Sign-in is perhaps the only banking feature that should be managed particularly carefully in PWA because their security is handled by the browsers. At the same time, native applications have the luxury of a more advanced authentication process.

Despite it being more time-consuming, the sign-in should be manual, not automated, to protect users from unsanctioned data retrieval. So, don’t forget the safety testing before launching your banking progressive application!

2. Account Management
Account management is the reason why people utilize internet banking in the first place. The most frequent features are:

bank account status
credit card balance and management - blocking and setting limits
deposit a check
transaction history, including debit and current credit report
money transfers - between accounts or to another user
For example, here are the most popular mobile banking features among Americans.

banking features
Source

Common bonus features - ATM and branches lists and locators, digital wallets, investments, and repeated payments. The lightweight aspect of the PWA will ensure a more considerable amount of valuable features won’t disturb the smooth running of the application...

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