tech

Image Credit

Research has shown that the current generation of banking apps has enhanced customer’s experiences.  However, there is still a wide margin between financial apps and others like Uber, WhatsApp, etc. These simple and intuitive applications have raised consumer expectations.

With the global pandemic progressing, digital banking has become a necessity in the wake of social distancing. Creating a low-friction user experience is an effective approach to serve customers in the best way. Like other sectors, the banking community has been revolutionized by advances in mobile tech. Internet consumers’ adoption of digital banking solutions has doubled up over the previous two years. 64% of digital-loving customers engage with fintech applications, EY’s Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019 reported. Here are four ways banks can improve their mobile apps.

Feature parity with banking websites

Although many customers now do their banking on their mobile devices, some users express their frustrations at the lack of flexible features in their banking apps. On banking websites, consumers often complain about limited features. It is thought that adding flexible functions that allow customers to see their pending payments, add new payees, and manage their direct debits/standing orders is a big plus for consumers’ mobile banking experiences.

Balance security features with convenience

For the majority of users, checking their balance is the number one reason to install mobile banking apps. However, end-users also have a better understanding of the need for security and convenience to go hand-in-hand. Some banks are unable to strike a fair balance between these, which makes their banking apps not that great. It can be stressful for customers to have to type in several complex passwords and usernames each time they simply want to check their balance.

Banks can improve their mobile services by matching their security protocols to the risk level of the task required. While high-risk transactions like adding new payees and changing sensitive personal info could require stricter security measures, checking balances could be allowed without customers having to always type in passwords.

Personalize customers’ mobile banking experience

To stand out and be a successful financial institution, banks need to offer personalized mobile banking experiences to their customers. This will create an amazing experience and satisfy the needs of digitally active and branch-dependent customers. For mobile banking apps, data analytics could be used to track how customers interact with their applications. Insights from their behavior could be leveraged to tailor services to individual users. With the rising acceleration of artificial intelligence, there is more room for banking institutions to cater their services to their unique consumers.

Create a continuous delivery model

One serious challenge to digital banking transformation is innovating a culture that is conventionally bureaucratic or hierarchical. It can be hard to drive innovation in a big banking organization, partly due to changes in management initiatives. However, it helps to rethink the waterfall methodology and implement an agile culture. This is instrumental in keeping pace with technology and creating a continuous delivery model.

Unsplash – CC0 License

If you’ve been following markets at all recently, you’ll know that crypto is big news. It’s now a multi-trillion dollar asset class – and growing all the time. 

For many people, though, it still seems like a bit of a mystery. And there are so many stories being written about it, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. 

In this article, we run through some of the reasons why you should jump on the crypto train and fundamentally change how you organize your finances. 

Let’s take a look, shall we?

The High Returns

Opponents of the crypto movement like to say that crypto isn’t a productive asset and, therefore, doesn’t provide any stream of returns. But that’s not entirely true. Assets are worth what people are willing to pay for them. And the value of crypto is going up all the time. 

It’s a little bit like housing. Because governments deliberately restrict the supply, people who own them experience annual house price growth which makes them feel wealthier. The supply of crypto is also limited, producing a similar effect. 

The returns for early cryptocurrency investors has been nothing short of spectacular. Buying coins a few years ago might have cost a couple of hundred dollars. Now they’re selling for tens of thousands. 

It’s Easy To Understand

Practically all aspects of the crypto market are surprisingly easy to understand.

If you’re on the consumer side, all you need to understand are the factors that determine the price of digital currencies – things like supply and demand. You don’t have to research any companies or try to figure out future cash flows. You just buy the currencies you want and then wait and see what happens.

On the mining side of the equation, things are also relatively simple. According to My Blockchain Life, the crypto world is worth around $200 billion. That’s essentially how much money miners have made by discovering new coins and selling them to the market. The returns have been tremendous. 

You Get To Keep Your Money

With regular currencies and gold, there’s always a risk that somebody will come along and take it. What’s worse, it’s hard to verify that a specific piece of currency is actually yours. One dollar bill looks pretty much identical to another. 

But that’s not how things work in the world of crypto. The coins in your wallet relate to your identity. So all the computers in the network agree that they’re yours and yours alone until you come to sell.

It’s Independent

Bitcoin is a great way to diversify your investment portfolio. The value of the currency doesn’t seem to correlate with other asset classes, like stocks or bonds. So, in that way, it protects the overall value of your investments over time. 

Furthermore, governments can’t interfere with cryptocurrency networks, no matter what they do. Because they are private and cross international barriers, preventing people from doing business on them is almost impossible. And, furthermore, they can’t print money and devalue the coins already in circulation. The blockchain technology behind them doesn’t allow it.

Pexels – CC0 License

Most of us know that in order to live healthily, to some degree we must spend money. Eating organically is often more expensive than eating foods produced cheaply and packed with preservatives, for instance. That said, often we overestimate how cost-effective healthy living can be. For the cost of an easily-booked takeaway meal, for instance, using raw ingredients to create a beautiful meal is often much cheaper.

That said, it’s also true that healthy living aids can demand more money from our purse. For instance, supplementing our diets with all the vitamins and minerals we may not have, indulging in small additions like fitness equipment, hobbies such as making matcha tea each morning, or even the long-term cost of hiring a personal trainer or partaking in paywalled communities online.

But how can we avoid wasting money on healthy living? There are a few techniques you can keep close to your heart. Remember, every point in this list is aided by research. It’s best to know the best hearing aid for your needs rather than purchasing the most expensive device out there, for instance.

Let’s get started, together:

Research & Information Is Free

It’s not uncommon for brands to offer a range of side purchases that you can make in order to get the ‘inside scoop’ on a practice or health discipline. For instance, it might be that you’re hoping to fast intermittently on a daily basis, and doing so means learning a few principles. Is it worth paying for the starting guide of someone running an online brand when there’s so much free information available online? Perhaps – but don’t default to that unless you are certain you need it.

Consider The Quality Of Service

Consider the quality of a service you may be utilizing. For instance, you may be subscribed to a meal delivery plan that helps you put together weight-loss meals with prepared ingredients each day. But are you paying twice that you would pay for the raw ingredients otherwise? And might it be that these recipes are limiting you? Could this be a foothold and nothing more? In this respect, you might reflect on how this service is benefiting you – as training wheels rather than a long-term payment you don’t need to be making.

Workout Outside Of A Gym

Covid has taught us that it’s more than possible to exercise outside, and this can save you money in a pinch. Taking a walk or run around the local park can help you avoid spending unnecessarily on treadmills unless you like running in the early morning and evening and want to stay safe doing so. It may be that investing that money in a home gym can save you money later on, while getting outside in nature can help you enjoy the mental-boosting benefits of being in an environment like this, without the subscription you keep forgetting to cancel.

While this is all just advice and totally depends on what you’re happy spending on, these money-saving principles can help you avoid wasting funds on a fit-and-healthy lifestyle.

If you want to spend more on a birthday present for a loved one, thinking about retirement, or planning a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, you are probably wondering how you can find the money to make such a dream a reality. If you already have a well-paying job, it might not just be a question of working harder but thinking smarter and saving on everyday purchases. Here are five common bills that you can make savings on. 

Electricity 

Check your electricity bill regularly to ensure that you are not wasting more electricity than you need to. Install a smart meter that can keep abreast of how much energy you use and even automatically turn off parts of the house when they are not being used. You can also upgrade your appliances at places like powerpointelectrics.co.uk, so you will use less energy, saving more money in the long run. 

Cable 

Many Americans spend a ridiculous amount of money on cable services, averaging $1,200 a year. With today’s streaming services dominance, significant savings can be made by switching to these modern options, which can cost under $200 for a similar suite of great programming options. If you want to save even more money, and you don’t mind living with the main channels, you can ditch the at-cost extras altogether.

Health Insurance

According to CNBC, the average cost of healthcare is around $321 a month. After taxes, rent, or mortgage payments, that can represent a rather large chunk of your income. We would recommend trying to renegotiate your healthcare plan, something that may seem rather daunting at first but can often change after a quick call or email. You also may find that federal or state plans can cover part of your healthcare costs; do your research and see if you can get some help. 

General Spending

To track what you are spending when you are going to the shops, we would recommend downloading a banking app that links to your card and lets you know your monthly outgoings. By tracking your spending, you will get a better hold of what you are using your money for, cutting down on non-essential purchases and saving more money each month. This same spending can then be automatically put in a savings account with interest payments, meaning your money grows with almost minimal effort. 

Transportation 

It is likely that transportation costs, especially if you are commuting daily to your workplace, are eating up a fair amount of your income. Is it possible to get a cheaper car or a better transportation deal? Do your research and find out if you can save more money each month this way. Additionally, if it is possible, perhaps you can swap your car or monthly railcard in for a bicycle. Not only does cycling keep you fit, both physically and mentally, it is several times cheaper compared to almost any other transport option, with virtually no ongoing costs bar the first initial purchase.