Lloyds Banking Group Tops UK Mobile Banking Benchmark Ranking

Digitization is rippling across the UK banking landscape, turning up the pressure on financial services providers to support distinctive mobile features, according to eMarketer. Insider Intelligence forecasts that 46.0% of the UK’s adult population will be smartphone banking users in 2025. By that same year, 39.3% of the population will hold at least one account at a digital-only bank.

For banks and building societies operating in the UK, the challenge to stand out to prospective customers, who are increasingly using mobile banking, has never been greater. A new benchmarking study reveals that among the top 10 financial institutions in the UK, one provider leads the pack with its set of emerging mobile features: Lloyds Banking Group. The study ranks the 10 largest UK banks and building societies by assets according to their innovative mobile banking capabilities. Its criteria include 41 of the year’s most cutting-edge mobile features, selected to help providers tap into customer demand and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

The study uses a unique, data-driven approach. For each feature financial institutions offer, points are earned proportionate to the level of demand that UK mobile banking users express for the feature. The latest study includes exclusive data from FinTech Insights by Scientia, a research platform that supplied vetted data on the feature sets of financial institutions, as well as video walkthroughs of key features. FinTech Insights captures hundreds of data points on the feature sets and user friction of over 100 financial services providers worldwide, including incumbent banks and challengers.

In this year’s study, Lloyds Banking Group topped the list in overall banking app performance, followed by Barclays in second place and NatWest Group in third. Lloyds Banking Group secured its lead by ranking among the top three providers across four of the six categories of features considered in the study. In the Security and Control category, Barclays and HSBC are tied at the top. Virgin Money is named the best in Alerts category, while in the Account Management, Lloyds Banking Group reached the top. Barclays is the best bank in Transfers, NatWest Group won the Digital Money Management category, while Lloyds Banking Group was named the best in Customer Service category.

“Mobile banking has redrawn the competitive battle lines in the UK. High-street banks, challengers, and major tech players are fighting for users and attention on smartphone screens,“ said Tyler Brown, senior analyst at Insider Intelligence. “To attract customers with new features, banks should listen to an old source: the voice of the customer.“