Fiserv white paper on why and how tablet is distinct from both online and mobile when it comes to banking interactions

1. White Paper
Banking on theTablet Channel

2. Fiserv White Paper
Banking on the Tablet Channel
Simply defined, tablets are general-purpose portable
computing devices contained in a single panel that
make use of a touch screen as the input device. Tablets
come in many varieties and sizes – including: the Apple®
iPad®
and iPad mini, Amazon’s Kindle®
Fire e-reader and
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab™ among others.
To optimize the tablet channel, financial institutions
need to align tablet banking to support the unique ways
consumers prefer to use the devices. Instead of just
enabling consumers to access a financial institution’s
online or mobile banking website designed for PC
or smartphone users, tablet-specific banking apps
should provide a rich experience that leverages touch
navigation and makes use of the larger display than that
provided on smartphones. To accelerate support of the
tablet channel, financial institutions should consider
relying on an experienced technology provider for
app development and comprehensive tablet banking
deployment. Partnering with such a provider will also
help financial institutions stay abreast of new devices
and operating systems.
Tablets Have a Unique Set of Attributes
Tablets combine attributes of many Internet-enabled
devices: spacious screen displays akin to PCs, the
always-on mobile connectivity of the smartphone and
the touch screen navigation of the latest e-readers. It is
the combination of these attributes, in addition to the
prevalence of tablet apps that have inspired consumers
to use tablets differently than other devices. Beyond
browser-accessed online banking and apps designed for
diminutive smartphone screens, it’s time for financial
institutions to provide an option designed specifically for
the tablet channel. The different attributes of the tablet
channel shape the kinds of activities that consumers
will prefer on the tablet. For example, the tablet lends
Industry estimates forecast that almost half
of the U.S. Internet population will be using
tablets by year-end.Tablets, with attributes of
both PCs and smartphones, are growing in
popularity as a way for consumers to access
the Internet for a host of activities, including
financial services.To capitalize on the way
consumers use the unique attributes of
tablets, financial institutions should consider
tablet banking as a new, distinct channel. By
optimizing tablet banking delivery with touch
screen navigation, application (app)-driven
functionality and enhanced graphics, financial
institutions will be positioned to provide
existing customers with an engaging way to
bank from anywhere, at any time and also
attract new segments that prefer the tablet
to the PC for accessing accounts, managing
finances and making transactions.
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3. Fiserv White Paper
The portability and display capabilities enable
consumers to approach tablet use in a “lean back” and
more relaxed posture, instead of sitting at a desk or
table. Because the display capabilities support larger
images than smartphones, consumers find it appealing
to lean back and use their tablets to browse and
interact. Tablets are less intrusive and more discreet
to use in public than laptops, facilitating access to a
full range of information and transactions. This enables
consumers to get an enhanced view of online content
anywhere and at any time, instead of being relegated to
the viewing limitations of smaller smartphone screens.
In addition to taking their tablets on the go, findings
from Gartner’s Early Tablet Adopters study reveals that
tablets have the potential to play a more dominant role
in homes than smartphones. In keeping with the lean
back posture, consumers are using their tablets in living
rooms (87 percent), bedrooms (65 percent) and kitchens
(47 percent).
Tablets Used for Financial Services
While owners access a broad range of media content
and information on their tablets, consumers are also
using the devices to access online financial services
and transact. According to the Fiserv 2012 Consumer
Trends Survey, almost half of tablet owners have used
their tablets to access their financial institution’s online
banking service and almost two-thirds of those yet to
access online banking from their tablets wish to do so in
the future (see Figure 1).
itself to visual presentations of data, such as charts
and graphs and the manipulation of that data with taps,
swipes and pinches.
Tablet Use is Mainstream and Expected to Grow
Use of the tablet channel is becoming mainstream.
In a June 2012 publication, the research consulting
firm, Frank N. Magid Associates, reported that an
estimated 31 percent of the U.S. Internet population,
approximately 74 million consumers, use tablets for an
average of two hours per day. This figure is expected to
reach 117 million, equivalent to 47 percent of the U.S.
Internet population, in 2013. The firm has also predicted
that tablet sales will overtake PC sales by 2016.
Tablets: Portable, Personal and Social
Not surprisingly, convenience and portability are the
main reasons consumers buy tablets.
Tablets are also much more engaging than most PCs
because of the touch screen. A mouse and keyboard
are very impersonal and disconnected in comparison
to using fingers to manipulate the screen. The tactical
encounters consumers have using apps on their tablets
seems to create a more interactive and personal
experience than the PC and even the smartphone. It’s
no wonder that in response to the tablet success of
Apple and other competitors, that Microsoft®
has been
compelled to design Windows®
8 for touch screen PCs.
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4. Fiserv White Paper
Two Must Haves forTablet Channel Support
When planning strategies for the tablet channel financial
institutions must consider the same driving forces that
should govern all channel development:
• Information Convergence: Since consumers access
banking information and transact using multiple
channels, they expect information to be accurate, up-
to-date and consistent across all channels, at all times
• Interaction Specialization: There are reasons why
consumers use different devices or channels
to access their financial information and make
transactions; consumer preferences using particular
channels to conduct specific banking activities are
influenced by the unique attributes of that channel
Information convergence and interaction specialization
apply to all channels. Therefore, consumers will expect
the same data that is available through their online
or mobile banking platform to be available through
the tablet banking platform. However, tablet banking
consumers will expect that tablet banking will utilize
touch screen features and take advantage of the screen
size to provide information graphically. This will enable
customers to interact and transact in the best way
possible on every channel they choose – branch, call
center, ATM, mobile, online and tablet – based on the
unique attributes of the access device or location.
The Components ofTablet Channel Specialization
Keeping the priorities of information convergence and
interaction specialization in mind, financial institutions
need to make an investment in the tablet channel to
optimize the customer experience. The existing mobile
and online banking features and functionality will not
create the optimal user experience of the tablet channel.
It is important for financial institutions to recognize
that support for the tablet channel will enhance the
dynamics of online banking. This enables consumers to
view account and transaction data holistically anywhere
and at any time, instead of being relegated to the
viewing limitations of smaller smartphone screens.
Knowing where, how and why consumers use their
tablets will provide financial institutions with insight into
how to design and develop the right user experience
for tablet banking. Using engaging graphics and
interactivity, financial institutions will build a tablet
channel experience that encourages customers to
spend more time with financial management tools
and encourage them to be more likely to browse their
financial institution websites for additional products.
Figure 1: Have you accessed Online Banking with your Tablet?
Would you like to access Online Banking with your Tablet?
Source: Consumer Trends Survey, Fiserv, Inc. 2012
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5. Fiserv White Paper
Device Proliferation
Although iPads account for half of all tablets, there are
many other makes and models and operating systems
(see Figure 2). Financial institutions need to support
what is out there now and be prepared to support more
as new devices become popular, for example, Microsoft
Surface™ — a hybrid laptop with a touchscreen and a
cover that detaches, turns and reattaches as a keyboard.
This does not mean that the tablet experience should
be conceived independently of a financial institution’s
existing channels and assets. On the contrary, while the
tablet experience needs to be tablet-specific, it should
be coherent with the user experience across other
channels, in particular, digital ones.
According to Fiserv primary user research about
consumers’ tablet expectations, tablet banking
should support:
• Gestural and tactile navigation and input, using fingers
to drag, slide and swipe the screen
• Visual representation of information and transactions
using interactive graphics to facilitate budgeting and
personal financial management
• Interactive tools, including calculators and calendars
Financial institutions that deliver an app-driven tablet
banking user experience will be able to fulfill these
consumer expectations and will encourage higher levels
of adoption and consumer satisfaction.
Expert Navigation of iPad versus Android and
App versus Browser
Financial institutions should be prepared for the
challenges they will face as they build a strategy for
tablet banking. To accelerate strategy development and
deployment of full tablet banking functionality, financial
institutions should consider partnering with a technology
provider that is well-versed in the design of solutions for
all banking channels. Such a partner will guide financial
institutions in ways to address the following concerns
related to tablet channel development:
Source: A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User Wave II, June 2012, Online
Publishers Association (OPA) and Frank N. Magid Associates
Figure 2: Tablet Device Types
Operating System (OS) Upgrades
Similar to mobile devices, tablet operating systems
are subject to frequent upgrades. Financial institutions
will need robust enterprise processes to maintain
compatibility with each OS version.
MultipleTechnologies
There is no standard for tablet technology (although
HTML5 has often been touted as one); banks will
need to follow an adaptive architecture model, using
the technology that works best for a specific
feature/functionality. For example, using native code
to enable image capture/video functionality and using
more traditional Web technologies for the display of
account balances.
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6. Fiserv White Paper
Getting It “Just Right”Will Help Drive Greater ROI
The time and effort financial institutions put into building
a specialized user experience for tablet banking will pay
significant dividends. Similar to mobile banking, there
are a few key elements that will drive tablet banking
return on investment (ROI).
Higher Customer Retention
As reported by Javelin Strategy & Research, tablet
owners are more engaged with and use their tablet
for banking more frequently than non-tablet owners,
helping to increase brand interaction and loyalty.
Lower Channel Costs
Tablet banking assists in the migration of customers
from high-cost offline channels, such as the call center
and branch, to a lower cost channel.
Data Integration
Financial institutions must be able to integrate core
systems with various channels to ensure the same data
is available across applications and updates in real time.
Functional/Content Aggregation
Tablet banking must bring together all functionality,
account and institutional information together into a
seamless user experience.
Coherence with Mobile and Online
While tablet experiences should be different than
mobile or online, consideration must be given to how
the experiences across digital devices will be coherent
and intuitive for customers.
User Experience (UX) and Interfaces (UI)
Customers expect tablet-specific design aesthetics
and gesture-based navigation that optimize the native
capabilities of the devices.
Platform Services
Financial institutions need to consider everything behind
the UI and UX (see Figure 3). This includes customer
care and enrollment, risk and security and reporting
and analytics. This requires establishing processes and
policies for the channel. For example, how are first-time
digital bankers with no digital credentials enrolled and
supported? How is security and privacy handled within
tablet banking and across channels? What reporting is
needed? All of these are questions financial institutions
will need to answer.
Figure 3: Behind the Tablet Interface
Source: Fiserv, Inc.
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7. Fiserv White Paper
The better the user experience and the more
functionality a financial institution offers, the more likely
customers are to adopt and use tablet banking. It’s
simple math – the more customers and transactions
that a financial institution can shift to digital channels,
the higher the potential ROI.
Bank on theTablet Channel
The tablet channel is already established and it’s
here to stay. It is likely that tablets will continue to
complement smartphones and PCs, and that eventually,
tablets will outsell PCs to become the entry device for
home computing. Use of touchscreens to consume
information and transact will become the rule. As tablet
use grows to replace PC use, financial institutions
will face increasing pressure from consumers to offer
a tablet banking service with the full suite of online
banking functionality, optimized with gesture interaction
and graphical displays for the tablet experience.
To solidify a tablet channel strategy, financial
institutions should:
• Treat tablet as a distinct channel – tablet banking is a
distinct channel that should supplement online
and mobile banking, however, access to tablet
banking should be app-driven to leverage all of the
channel’s attributes
• Offer a unique user experience – tablet banking lends
itself to graphical depictions of data and gestural
interactivity, users will expect this device-specific
functionality to make use of all attributes of the
tablet’s unique set of attributes
Expanded Customer Base
Tablet banking presents an opportunity to
attract new business from distinct and often new
consumer segments.
Increased Profitability
Tablet users are accustomed to using their devices to
make purchases and may be likely to respond to ads and
offers using their tablets.
Delivering compelling financial outcomes from tablet
banking starts by offering foundational services, but
it doesn’t stop there. According to the Fiserv 2012
Consumers Trends Survey, consumers are looking for
the tablet channel to be fully functional (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: What features of tablet banking did you use or do you
desire to use?
Source: Consumer Trends Survey, Fiserv, Inc. 2012
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8. Fiserv White Paper
• Consider platform and technology – the tablet channel
must be seamlessly integrated with all other channels
to support information access and management
reporting; in addition, channel-specific processes and
policies for authentication, security and customer care
needs to be supported
By considering these tablet strategy components,
financial institutions can respond to the growing trend of
tablet banking. Delivering an app-driven, fully-functional
tablet experience that complements all channels
will lead to happier customers, more customers and
sustained financial institution performance.
About Fiserv
Fiserv is driving innovation in Payments, Processing Services,
Risk & Compliance, Customer & Channel Management and
Insights & Optimization, and leading the transformation of
financial services technology to help our clients change the
way financial services are delivered. Visit www.fiserv.com for
a look at what’s next, right now.
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9. Fiserv, Inc.
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