Most digital banking apps work well enough. You can check your balance, transfer money and pay your bills without any problems. But while these apps are used by millions of people across Europe, they’re rarely loved. Very few people are excited by the thought of scrolling through their latest transactions. And this is a problem, because when people don’t feel an emotional connection to a service or product, they’re more likely to switch providers when offered a better experience elsewhere.
Take the Whoop fitness band as an example. Two users can wear the same device and use the same app, but each person will see completely different personalised insights that matter specifically to them. This is exactly the challenge facing banks today, as most banking apps are functional but not emotional. The difference between a banking app and other lifestyle apps that are loved by their users is that banks still think in terms of functions and products rather than experiences and customer journeys.
Banks have all the data they need to create compelling personalised experiences. Transaction history, spending patterns and financial goal data could all power insights that help customers make better decisions. But instead of leveraging this data creatively, most banks present it in a generic dashboard that looks identical for every user.
So how can banking apps be made to feel more human and emotionally engaging? The answer lies in how banks think about app development. Most institutions approach digital banking as a technology challenge rather than an experience challenge, but the most successful digital experiences don’t just solve problems - they make users feel something.
Can AI finally make banking feel human?
The potential benefit of integrating AI within banking apps is huge. By 2030, McKinsey estimates that AI technologies could potentially deliver up to $1 trillion of additional value each year. And 46% of financial firms have already reported better customer satisfaction after integrating AI.
But banks often implement AI for cost-cutting reasons rather than to improve the customer experience. Think about how many mostly non-AI chatbots were initially hyped but ultimately provided little strategic value. Without access to customer data, they could only give generic responses. In fact, satisfaction with virtual assistants may actually be declining due to limited conversational capabilities and extremely narrow functionality.
AI implementations that do work tend to focus on genuinely helping customers. For example, AI can be used to automatically optimise a customer’s spending, suggest better savings strategies or alert them to unusual patterns before they become problems.
The most promising applications of AI enhance human interaction, such as handling routine tasks like categorising expenses or detecting fraudulent transactions. This frees up human advisors to focus on tasks like complex financial planning and relationship building, leading to better customer experiences. G+D Netcetera’s AI Banking Assistant demonstrates this balanced approach. Rather than trying to replace all human interaction, it augments existing services with intelligent automation that genuinely improves customer outcomes.
AI technology works - 90% of banks worldwide already use it for fraud detection. The next step is extending that same strategic thinking to customer experience.
Should banking apps become ‘super apps’ or stay focused on finance?
The success of WeChat and other Asian super apps has encouraged many European banks to wonder whether they should expand their offerings. WeChat has 1.2 billion users and enables everything from messaging to payments to food delivery within a single app. But the real value isn’t the breadth of functionality - it’s how the app seamlessly integrates into the user’s daily life.
For European banks, however, simply copying the super app model might not work in Europe. The regulatory environment is different, customer expectations are different and data protection requirements create additional complexity
Currently, successful banks are focusing on seamlessly integrating their offerings with customers’ existing digital habits rather than trying to become an ‘everything’ app for everyone. This can mean partnering with other services rather than building all their own solutions in-house.
68% of Millennials and 64% of Gen Z primarily use mobile banking apps as their main way to manage finances, and these digital-native customers expect their banking app to work smoothly with other services they use daily. But this doesn't necessarily mean banks need to build a super app. Instead, it might mean offering digital wallet solutions that integrate with Apple Pay and Google Pay, or providing APIs that let customers connect their bank account to budgeting apps and investment platforms.
“Ultimately, customers want simplicity, not complexity. They want their banking to happen where and when they need it, without friction or unnecessary steps. Sometimes that may mean staying within their banking app. And other times, it may mean enabling secure transactions through partner platforms.” Andreas Pages, Head of Solutions & Consulting, at G+D Netcetera.
Online banking penetration across Europe is around 70% (and as high as 97% in Denmark) showing that customers do embrace digital banking when it’s done well. But they’re also sophisticated enough to expect seamless experiences rather than bloated feature sets.
How digital banking can evolve from functional to emotional
The transformation can start with changing how banks think about customer data. Instead of viewing transaction history as compliance information, it should be treated as the foundation for personalised experiences - 55% of mobile banking users prefer apps that give personalised financial insights and recommendations, and yet most banks still present generic dashboards that look identical for every customer.
Banks could learn from other industries. Just as fitness apps provide weekly insights like “You burned 1,000 extra calories this week,” banks could offer similar proactive assistance that makes customers feel genuinely supported rather than just processed. For example, imagine if a banking app had a feature similar to Spotify’s end-of-year wrapped feature. Instead of just showing transaction categories, it could tell stories about each customer’s financial journey - “You saved 15% more than last year,” or “Your coffee spending decreased by 70% after starting working from home.” The UK’s most popular neobank Monzo has been doing this since 2018, with its fun and quirky ‘Year in Monzo’ end-of-year spending summary.
For banks to connect with customers emotionally, they’ll have to employ deliberate design decisions that prioritise customer feelings alongside the usual functional requirements. Even small touches such as friendly error messages, celebratory animations when customers reach savings goals or proactive notifications about upcoming bill payments can make a big difference.
The banks that succeed will be those that make customers feel genuinely supported in their financial lives. This might involve offering proactive fraud prevention that blocks suspicious transactions before customers notice them, or intelligent budgeting tools that help customers reach their goals without feeling restricted. Modern mobile banking platforms should feel like a trusted financial advisor who knows each individual customer’s financial situation intimately and always has their best interests at heart. And that doesn’t come from adding more features - it comes from making existing features feel more human.
The banks that recognise this shift and act on it will earn themselves a sustainable competitive advantage. Because while technology can be copied, genuine emotional connections with customers can’t.
This article was based on G+D Netcetera’s recent Tech Tribe podcast CX Is Everything: What Does Great Banking Feel Like? where Stefan Matheis, Head of Product and Andreas Pages, Head of Solutions & Consulting, both at G+D Netcetera, discuss how to make mobile banking a truly customer-friendly emotional experience.
https://www.netcetera.com/Digital-Banking.html
This article is original content provided by Netcetera.
