In a new Forrester mobile banking functionality benchmark of the five largest retail banks in Canada, CIBC takes the top spot for its offering, followed closely by BMO, Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank, and TD Canada Trust.

Using its Mobile Banking Functionality Benchmark methodology, Forrester scored each of the five Canadian banks with an average of 66 out of 100, which in turn reveals the differences seen in the banks offerings across 35 criteria and seven categories, including: range of touchpoints, enrollment and login, account and money management, transactional features, service features, cross-channel, and marketing and sales.

In the top spot, CIBC offers best-in-class features such as extensive mobile alerts, customized layout options on its iPhone app home screen, money management visualizations on its iPad app, and clear guidance to other channels like phone and email.

“We found best-in-class examples from all the firms we assessed,” writes Senior Analyst Peter Wannemacher. “All five banks reviewed in the benchmark are within 10 points of each other, and all earned a score of more than 50 — meaning that they are meeting mobile bankers’ basic needs and expectations. Canadian firms do well in three areas: range of touchpoints supported, transactional features available, and cross-channel guidance.”

But there is still work to be done. Firms earned an average score of just 46 out of 100 in the mobile sales and acquisition category, and 38 out of 100 in the mobile services category. What’s more is that most banks’ customers cannot report fraud, manage alerts, or complete other service activities within mobile banking. According to Wannemacher, digital teams at banks should step up their efforts in these areas by offering in-app alerts management and customer service options within their apps.

Learn more about the ranking here, and see Peter’s blog on the findings.