Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash
Chase Bank provides its clients with a one-stop shop for easily managing their accounts whenever and wherever they are through the Chase Mobile Banking app. In order to achieve their financial objectives with the least amount of security compromise, users can check their account balance, pay bills, deposit checks, and do much more.
Ever since I moved to the US for my grad studies, I’ve been heavily relying on their services for anything related to finance. It’s been almost a month, and the app does bug me on several instances and led me into dumbfounded realizations that I’ve face-palmed 1/4 times after logging in. I want to shed some light on my frustrations as their user and critique the application using concepts from the classic “The Design of Everyday Things” book written by Don Norman.
My experience so far
Let’s face it, I have little to no experience with the banking applications available in the US market, and where I am from (India), the digital finance space is exceedingly expanding on new horizons. While the Chase App does offer cool features that I have benefited from, there are times I wonder what went down during review meetings to finalize their design decisions. As a student who is constantly tight on their budget and an over-thinker, I have spent a good amount of my time speculating the outcome of my clicks that would result in me losing out on all my remaining pennies. Here are my observations—the likes and the dislikes (mostly) about the app so far.
Frustration #1: The Accounts section
I love how the homepage initially has chips of the most frequently used operations, which can also be customized according to my convenience. I can immediately send my share of the utilities to my roommates using Zelle®, which can be completed in a few steps. But my biggest frustration was that I couldn’t access my account details for the longest time! I would hunt through to find my details only to understand that I could have just tapped on the Accounts section. It hurts to admit it, but for dummies, a.k.a. me, the discoverability factor was 0. The slider icon was given higher affordability, which led users to access the “Pay & Transfer” options that are omnipresent. The Signifier “▶” icon next to the account number was so minuscule that I completely ignored its existence and didn’t match the “>” icon used throughout.
Solution?
A “View Account >” button in the section or simply just the “>” icon could have saved me from the confusion, which would have clearly signified the presence of the option and would afford me to select the button to view my details.
Frustration #2: The Offer wallet
Chase offers amazing deals and cashback ranging from groceries to electronics, which aids in saving money. Customers can add them to their wallets and view the terms & conditions immediately, along with the steps to activate them, which is good feedback. The problem is that after returning to the app, I have no idea where the coupons that I have specifically saved are stored. Only when the user either clicks on the wallet app, which lacked prominent signifiers, or scrolls towards the end of the section will they find their selected offers. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep track of the offers selected, and my poor “Shake Shack” coupon expired.
Solution?
A notification badge on the wallet would be the best signifier that the offers selected are stored in the wallet along with the number of coupons actively present in it. Coupons close to expiry could also be alerted to users in order to motivate engagement on the app.
Goodbye, my expired coupon :’)
Frustration #3: Should I view this or not?
In the Self Service section, the “Statement and Tax Forms” option gives the user the ability to view account-related documents for taxation purposes. The options available were grayed out, which made me believe that those options were restricted to me. Since the severity of the situation seemed comparatively low, I tapped on the options only to know that I could fully access them. Constraints are crucial for guiding users smoothly through interactions, reducing errors, and improving overall usability. But the false semantic constraints, which were most likely unintentionally present, made me hesitate to select the options.
Solution?
By displaying the options as per the UI guidelines of the app, it would have led the users to access the options, which would enhance discoverability. An navigation icon added would further afford the options available along with a signifier icon.
An ongoing frustration…
As a customer, I can’t view my debit card details virtually via the app or the website. If I need to add my card details online or anywhere required, I need to have my physical in front of me for reference, which is frustrating, especially in a scenario where I can’t get hold of my physical card.
Solution?
An already existing solution is to introduce a section where I can view my debit card details along with the card number . and additional information. An added authentication like the OTP auth or biometric would make the process secure, and details would be private to the customer only.
To conclude,
Chase Mobile is a terrific app that helps users do multiple operations at ease as per their convenience. As the app directly deals with the capital of the person, poor design choices could leave their customers feel hesitant towards the reliability of the service. With the usability improvement suggested, the app can be more user-friendly and could aid in providing satisfactory performance.