Mobile banking has surged during the coronavirus pandemic, and banks are reacting with enhanced mobile capabilities, new features and educational tools to support the new wave of digital users. Bank Innovation talked with some of the biggest banks across the country to learn how mobile banking has changed in the past five months and what’s to come for the digital banking space in the wake of the pandemic. In the first part of this ongoing series, find out how Bank of America, TD and First National Bank are innovating the mobile banking experience.

Bank of America

For Bank of America, Zelle transactions and interactions with AI chatbot Erica were two main drivers of the $2.38 trillion dollar bank’s mobile banking spike in the second quarter.

“The way we deliver, develop and deploy technology is very much guided by, ‘What is it that our clients want?’” said Aditya Bhasin, head of consumer and wealth management technology at Bank of America. He added that providing advice at scale is key to the process.

To that end, Bhasin highlighted the performance of Erica, the bank’s AI-driven virtual assistant, which now understands more than 60,000 coronavirus-related terms, questions and requests related to managing cashflow and increasing savings while reducing the volume of questions coming through other client care channels.

Meanwhile, Zelle transactions increased 70% year over year to 117.2 million, and the number of dollars sent through the platform increased 79% to $32.2 billion during the same time frame. Total Zelle users increased to 11.3 million from 8 million last year, according to the bank’s second-quarter earnings report.

Also read: Bank of America scored 418 technology patents in 2019

First National Bank

First National Bank has increased both its monthly average mobile and its online users by 50,000 each compared with 2019’s average levels, according to Samuel Kirsch, chief digital officer at $38 billion dollar First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation.

The number of customers enrolling in mobile banking jumped 40% over the 2019 average, with “significant” increases in Zelle peer-to-peer payments and mobile check deposits, Kirsch said.

The bank’s revamped website, which launched in January, drove the online and mobile banking traction, Kirsch said, noting the site’s design was inspired by an online shopping interface. Monthly website visitors increased nearly 70% compared with the 2019 average, he added.

“Customers can shop, learn and purchase products by selecting a product box from our virtual Solutions Center,” Kirsch said. “When a customer is ready to check out, they are taken to an online application where, within minutes, an account can be opened and funded.”

The website also has an online appointment-scheduling feature to connect customers with bankers virtually when branch lobbies were closed. The monthly number of appointments grew to 2,700 in April compared with 26 in January.

TD

Toronto-based TD saw a 30% lift in digital engagement between mid-March and the end of April in Canada and the U.S., according to Imran Khan, head of digital experience at TD Bank Group. In the U.S. specifically, there was a 17% increase in digital interactions, Khan said. Moreover, TD saw a 130% increase in digital interactions online and via mobile among seniors in the second quarter.

Since the pandemic, TD has launched digital applications for customers to apply for and receive government stimulus checks and payment deferrals for auto loans, credit cards and mortgages. The CA$1.7 trillion dollar ($1.3 trillion) bank also launched a chat solution on its online banking platform, EasyWeb, to connect customers with a live TD agent. And in the U.S., TD Bank introduced a new virtual assistant that uses conversational AI to provide real-time responses to customer questions.

Certain banking tools available via TD’s mobile app have gained traction amid the pandemic. The adoption of TD MySpend, the bank’s mobile money-management application, accelerated as enrollment increased 30% year-over-year. The app provides real-time analytics for users to better understand spending habits and personal finance. Meanwhile, customer inquiries through TD’s virtual assistant, Clari, more than doubled from last year.

Also read: TD tests new AI-based app capabilities

Visit Bankinnovation.net to catch the next story in this series exploring how mobile banking has changed amid the pandemic and where it will go from here.