Let’s be honest: the mobile banking app has become the new front door of the financial institution. Since widespread smartphone adoption in the early 2010s, this trend has only grown, with a multitude of cottage industries and FinTechs cropping up to support the digital revolution in the world of financial services.
The problem? While it’s a given these days that you need a mobile banking app to stay competitive at any size, many banks and credit unions stop nurturing it after it’s launched. The app becomes a check-the-box tool instead of a true growth driver.
Since joining Neural Payments, I’ve set out to discover why, and how Financial Institutions can do better.
🚀 Mobile Banking Usage Is Soaring, But Engagement Is Slipping
Nearly 80% of smartphone users worldwide now access mobile banking ¹, and the majority of U.S. consumers prefer it over any other channel. That’s a huge captive audience, but only if we keep them engaged.
The problem? App usage is declining. According to a 2024 JD Power study, consumers are using fewer features in their mobile banking apps than they did a year ago, dropping from ~6 features in 2023 to ~5.8 in 2024 ².
That decline may seem small, but it signals a deeper issue: banks are underutilizing their most important digital asset.
🧩 What’s Driving the Disconnect?
We’ve seen a few consistent trends across financial institutions:
- The valley after the mountaintop: After achieving the lift it takes to launch a mobile banking app, some institutions may not have the knowledge or resources to nurture and grow their app’s audience and engagement.
- Feature awareness gaps: Nearly a quarter of consumers don’t use P2P or mobile banking features simply because they’re not sure how ³.
- Losing deposits to third-party apps: Users routinely switch to Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App for speed and convenience — moving funds outside the bank’s ecosystem.
Each of these issues has a real impact on retention, growth, and long-term brand value.
💡 The Solution? Make Mobile the Hub of Your Growth Strategy
If mobile banking is your new front door, it’s time to build more branches for your financial institution. The goal isn’t to create a fancy app for its own sake, it’s to create an experience that keeps your institution’s users active and loyal.
Here’s where forward-thinking banks are leaning in:
- Embed Everyday Value
Offering core services like P2P payments, disbursements, digital lending, and financial knowledge resources within your app means users stay longer, transact more, and return more often. At Neural Payments we strive to make it easy to offer customer-centric technologies to FIs without requiring new downloads, logins, or apps.
- Keep Users In-App and In Ecosystem
Every time a user moves money through a third-party platform, that’s a deposit leaving your bank. By keeping payment rails like Venmo, PayPal, cards, and bank transfers embedded inside your mobile app (as Neural Payments enables), you’re capturing not just convenience, but data, deposits, and trust.
- Emphasize Security Without Sacrificing Speed
Fraud concerns are real. But growth depends on minimizing friction. With customizable fraud rules, institutions can protect users while maintaining a seamless payment experience. That’s a win-win for both customer experience and risk mitigation.
🏦 What This Looks Like in Practice
Banks and credit unions we’ve worked with have seen real success by:
- Making P2P and other features the centerpiece of their digital engagement strategy
- Promoting new features and products through in-app banners and messaging
- Aligning their mobile app to broader goals around deposit growth, user retention, and new account openings
The common thread? They treat their app like a product, not a project.
📈 Mobile Banking = Growth Engine
You don’t need to monetize your app directly to see business growth. In fact, when done well, the ROI takes care of itself through:
- Higher active user rates
- Increased customer satisfaction and retention
- Deposit recapture from third-party platforms
- Reduced fraud through better data visibility and control
These are the metrics that make digital leaders and win over customers.
👋 From One Learner to Another
As someone newer to fintech, I’ve spent the last few months immersed in what makes financial technology work and what makes it stick. One thing is clear:
The banks that win tomorrow are the ones investing in mobile today.
Your app shouldn’t just be functional. It should be foundational to your growth strategy.
Let’s make it happen.
