These 3 Canadian banks offer the most in-demand emerging mobile features

• This is a preview of Insider Intelligence’s 2021 Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark, available exclusively to subscribers.
• In addition to mobile banking coverage, Insider Intelligence publishes thousands of pieces of content, including research reports, charts, and forecasts on the financial services industry. You can learn more about becoming a client here.

The Canadian banks that offer the most desirable mobile banking app features in 2021 are RBC, TD Canada, and BMO, according to the inaugural Insider Intelligence Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark.

After an uptick in 2020, growth in Canadian consumers’ smartphone banking adoption will slow to a trickle, according to an Insider Intelligence forecast. Financial institutions (FIs) can no longer rely on new smartphone owners to grow their ranks of mobile users, and they need to distinguish their mobile offerings to gain the upper hand when they compete for new customers. 

The Insider Intelligence 2021 Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark examines the offerings of the seven largest Canadian FIs by assets to determine which banks best meet customer demand for advanced mobile banking features. 

Heads of product and channels use this report to gauge mobile performance and plan their product road maps. It highlights which of 42 advanced mobile banking features the top seven Canadian FIs by assets deploy, and uses a dedicated survey of 1,187 Canadian consumers fielded in November and December 2020 to determine which of those features they most demand.

Here is what sets apart the leading FIs in the Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark:

First place: RBC was a top-three performer in three of the four categories of features that survey respondents say they value most: The bank tied for first in the Account Management and Alerts categories and tied for second in Transfers. It was also a top-four performer in Security and Control as well as Customer Service.

• Score: 57.7% of total possible points.
• Noteworthy feature: NOMI Find and Save automatically moves a safe amount of money into users’ savings accounts on their behalf.

Second place: TD narrowly beat out the bank that placed third, leading the Transfers and Customer Service categories, tying for first in Security and Control, and coming in second in Digital Money Management.

• Score: 55.6% of total possible points.
• Noteworthy feature: TD Clari, an intelligent chatbot assistant that can complete tasks such as breaking down spending or answering customer service queries. 

Third place: BMO led the Digital Money Management category and tied for first in both Security and Control and Alerts.

• Score: 55.3% of total possible points.
• Noteworthy feature: CashTrack, a component of its BMO Insights personal finance management solution, predicts cash flows and recommends solutions to potential shortfalls.
  

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The Insider Intelligence 2021 Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark ranks the seven largest Canadian financial institutions by assets according to the strength of their mobile banking capabilities. It presents detailed benchmarking data on the availability of 42 mobile features, selected by analysts based on their utility, rarity, or novelty. Features were weighted according to the results of a dedicated survey of 1,187 Canadian consumers who have used mobile banking.

The Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark covers Banque Nationale, BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD.

The full report is available to Insider Intelligence clients. In addition to our 2021 Canada Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark, Insider Intelligence publishes a wealth of research reports, charts, forecasts, and analysis of the Banking industry. You can learn more about accessing all of this content here.