Technology
03/27/2017

Digital is in Our DNA


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Once your most basic needs in the first two levels of Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs have been covered—including food, shelter, security and the like—what do you need then?

According to Maslow, the next three levels of need are Belongingness and Love, Esteem and Self-Actualization. All of these needs are fulfilled in one way or another by various forms of digital media: blogs, emails, twitter and LinkedIn.Combined, the digital mobile world we live in today plays to our basic psychological and self-fulfillment needs, which is why it is so addictive.

According to the Bank of America Corp.’sannual researchinto mobility, millennials spend more time interacting on their phone than with their partner, family, friends and colleagues.

Perhaps this is why many of us are so addicted to selfies and using the camera to stream our daily routines non-stop.It is also why some joker added WiFi and a battery to Maslow’s well known pyramid. (And if Maslow was alive today, he would no doubt agree.)

When we don’t have our phone, we often feel anxious and bored with a fear of missing out on what’s going on. We even walk and talk differently when we are using a mobile phone. The University of Bathfound that people who text had developed a protective shuffle that prevents them bumping into obstacles, or tripping over hazards. This means that it takes those texting 26 percent longer to complete a walking task compared to those who were not distracted by their phones, and it is really annoying. You know, you’re walking along the pavement and someone is shuffling slowly in front of you with that hunched over look that signals they are playing with their mobile phone. You kind of want to hit them in the back of the head and tell them to get out of the way, but don’t because you know you do it yourself. This is the world today, and the reason whysome citiesare introducing texting and non-texting sidewalks.

Before we look at banks, a little test. Turn off your mobile phone and seehow many minutes or hours you can wait before turning it back on again. Do this when you’re not in a meeting or sleeping and have ready access to your phone. I bet none of you last more than an hour.

The reason for giving this insight into the mobile digital age being part of our DNA is that, if our relationships are with and through our digital devices, how does a bank become part of that world? That’s a difficult question. Most bankers think that mobile and digital generally are projects to invest in, not the representation of a cultural transformation.But this dependency on our devices is a cultural transformation. The very fact that we have gone from a phone being a mere communication device to being at the very center of our lives in just one decade is incredible, but true.

Meanwhile, what banks are offering the best mobile experience? In the U.S., it’s JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s Chase retail banking unit, according toMagnify Money. Chase was voted the best mobile banking app in the country for a large bank, and applauded by users for a combination of design and functionality. The app has a lot of the features deemed most important by consumers, which includes fingerprint sign-on, mobile check deposit and the ability to see images of deposited checks. Consumers want to be able to do everything on the app, and Chase has been adding functionality throughout the year to keep people satisfied.

Forrester ranked the world’s best retail mobile banking services and benchmarked the retail mobile banking services of 46 large retail banks across four continents on 40 criteria, and found the average bank scored 65 out of 100.

Australia’s Westpac outstripped the average bank by being strong in every category. The bank earned the highest score in the transactional features category and did particularly well in its range of touch points, account and money management, and marketing and sales. It is one of the few banks to offer contactless mobile payments capability using near-field communication technology. The bank has also rolled out innovative features such as letting customers take pictures of their credit cards to activate them.

Of theother banks reviewed, nine stood out from their peers for their impressive mobile banking capabilities: CaixaBank in Spain, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Scotiabank in Canada, Garanti in Turkey, Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. in the U.S., Bank Zachodni WBK in Poland and Lloyds Bank in the U.K.

Chris Skinner