The world’s biggest banks continue to be assailed by criticisms of their technology provision for clients, this time with their mobile banking apps coming under fire for their weakness on clients' priority features - security being one of the most prominent.

Having assessed the banking apps of the world’s biggest 50 institutions MyPrivateBanking, the private client forum and research firm, found that of the ten most important features users expect of their apps for only three is provision by the banks adequate. In fact only the most basic functions, such as online banking and branch/ATM-finder functions, are offered by over 80 per cent of the world’s banks.

Having surveyed users of mobile banking apps, MyPrivateBanking found that besides the “basics”, the most important features for clients are a range of brokerage transaction tools, the means to interact directly with the bank and their advisor and, predictably, security features.

Shockingly, given the sensitivity of the information, the survey identified widespread shortcomings in the security features of mobile apps: only 30 per cent of the apps offered encryption, password and username safety measures. It goes without saying that this should be a priority for banks as users will take an extremely dim view of shortcomings on security regardless of how good their apps’ other features are.

Lower down the list of clients’ priorities were financial planning tools, research libraries and company information – this despite the fact that many wealth managers have focused on providing research and company information in the first releases of their mobile banking apps. Many firms are however focusing on providing clients with market information and this looks like a good thing as this provision came third in clients’ list of priorities and was a feature of 64 per cent of the apps assessed.

Followers of technology developments in wealth management will already know that firms have also come in for a lot of criticism recently for their lack of social media provision. In many ways wealth managers are falling behind other sectors, like FMCG, and in the words of Swiss consulting firm Assetinum wealth managers are approaching social media “quite clumsily.” Although only just, social media links did make it into clients’ top ten app features and yet this is only offered by 18 per cent of banks.

The top ten most highly-prized banking app features ran as follows, with the percentage figures showing the proportion of the apps assessed which had them:

1.    Account overview (94 per cent)

2.    Online banking (84 per cent) 2. Branch/ATM-finder (84 per cent)

3.    Market information (64 per cent)

4.    Securities brokerage (40 per cent)

5.    Product and services offerings (36 per cent)

6.    Direct contact with financial advisor, such as chat/messaging functions (36 per cent)

7.    Video or podcasts (32 per cent)

8.    Full security, including encryption, password and username safety measures) (30 per cent)

9.    Link with Facebook presence (18 per cent)

As Steffen Binder, research director at MyPrivateBanking, notes, users of banking apps are early adopters and so aren’t likely to be impressed by banks which offer only the most basic features such as online banking. “Interaction and social media features are must-haves to keep and win the new generation of clients,” he said.

Echoing various senior executives’ comments on technology developments, Binder places emphasis on the communication element of app provision and views the way forward as opening up apps to each client’s preferred medium of communication, be it email, Facebook, Twitter, or any other communication channel. Indeed, as Binder recently told WealthBriefing, sister publication to Family Wealth Report, “If you have a Facebook page but you only use it to publish your press releases you had better leave it alone.”