The Spanish bank BBVA takes the top spot in Forrester’s evaluation of European mobile banking apps by striking the perfect balance between meticulous functionality and excellent user experience.

In its recent report The Forrester Banking Wave™: European Mobile Apps, Q2 2018, Forrester reviewed the mobile apps of 12 European banks for both functionality and user experience: BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole in France; Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit in Italy; Bank Zachodni WBK and mBank in Poland; BBVA and CaixaBank in Spain; Garanti in Turkey; and Barclays, Lloyds Bank, and Nationwide Building Society in the UK.

According to the research, BBVA leads the way followed by Garanti, mBank, CaixaBank, and Barclays. The Spanish bank offers stellar functionality across all categories and a wide range of next-generation features and personal finance management tools.

Lloyds Bank, Nationwide Building Society, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Bank Zachodni WBK, and BNP Paribas offer compelling mobile banking experiences, while Crédit Agricole lags behind.

“Mobile apps have become millions of customers’ touchpoint of choice for managing their finances,” explains Forrester Analyst Aurélie L’Hostis, who co-authored the research with Researcher Alex Causey. “Over a third of European online adults are now active mobile banking users, and — unlike in some other sectors — people tend to prefer using mobile apps over mobile websites for banking. Many, if not most, European banks have seen mobile banking interaction volumes and user numbers overtake online banking in the past few years.”

Forrester finds that a bolt-on approach to apps rarely leads to good experiences. Digital teams at European banks should review not only what they offer to customers but also how they work together to design, develop, and deliver mobile banking experiences.

“To continuously improve mobile banking and keep up with customers’ expectations for easy, effective, and contextually relevant experiences, digital teams must review how they design, develop, and deliver mobile banking,” concludes Ms. L’Hostis.

To understand why mobile banking has become crucial to drive customer loyalty and, ultimately, revenue growth, please contact Chiara Carella, Public Relations Europe, ccarella@forrester.com.