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JPMorgan Chase Ranked Best Mobile Deposit User Experience

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OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK

Cornerstone Advisors released the 2020 Mobile Deposit Benchmark Report which ranked the top 20 US-based banks on their mobile deposit user experience.

According to the study, more than half (54%) of mobile banking customers used their mobile banking app’s check deposit capability in the past year. In addition, 52% said depositing a check was one of the most important mobile banking features.

My, how times have changed. A 2013 FindABetterBank.com study found that only 8% of consumers shopping for a bank on its site indicated that mobile check deposit was a “must-have” feature. Well, it is now. According to the study:

  • Mobile deposit is a mainstream mobile banking activity. In the past year, 54% of mobile banking customers used their mobile banking app’s check deposit capability. That was virtually equal to the percentage who paid bills through a mobile banking app, and not far behind the most prevalent mobile banking activity, checking account balances.
  • Mobile is the most prevalent deposit method for Millennials and Gen Xers. Two-thirds of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 said that mobile deposit is now their preferred method for depositing paper checks. Even though that percentage drops to the mid-40s for respondents between the ages of 25 and 54, mobile deposit is still the preferred method for those consumers.
  • Mobile deposit isn’t perfect. Surprisingly, a larger percentage of younger consumers experienced problems with mobile deposit than older consumers did. Funds not available in a timely manner and issues getting a clear check were the most prevalent problems.

Mobile Deposit Rankings

There’s a new leader at the top of the scoreboard: JPMorgan Chase. The bank knocked Capital One off the pedestal, which it sat atop for the previous two rankings. According to the report:

“Chase climbed its way to the top by improving not only its customer experience but also its policies—specifically, its limits and, most importantly, check retention time.”

In second place—up nine spots from the previous study—was Citibank, on the strength of its check retention time and deposit limits. Citi would have been in contention for the top stop if not for its shortcomings with error prevention.

The study also found that:

  • Policy decisions have a strong impact on the ranking. Two policy-related functions—deposit limits and recommended paper check hold times—vary widely across banks and therefore have a strong impact on the banks’ overall ranking.
  • Two features have become non-differentiators. Auto-capture and real-time status updates have become “cost of doing business” functions in mobile deposit. All but one of the ranked banks were rated equally on auto-capture functionality, and 17 of the 20 were ranked equally for providing real-time status updates.
  • Laggards shared common shortcomings. Mobile apps from the banks towards the bottom of the ranking typically suffered from: 1) too much text; 2) a cluttered user interface; and 3) an inability to access tips or help throughout the mobile deposit process.

Outlook for Mobile Deposit

According to the 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study, the number of check payments made in the US has declined from 42.6 billion in 2000 to just 14.5 billion in 2018.

Despite the drop, 54% of the consumers surveyed for the study said they had received two or more paper checks in the two months preceding the survey.

That may be down from the past, but the reality is that enabling consumers to use their mobile device to deposit paper checks is a major source of convenience. In fact, two-thirds of consumers ranked convenience as the most important factor leading them to use their banking app’s mobile deposit feature.

If banks could measure “convenience utility,” mobile deposit would rank very highly.

Bottom line: The mobile deposit customer experience is increasingly becoming a critical determinant of consumers’ satisfaction with their banks’ or credit unions’ mobile banking capability—and ultimately their overall satisfaction with the institution.

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