User-centered-design of a UI for mobile banking applications

Abstract

A rapid increase in the number of smartphone users and wireless internet subscribers has brought about a digital revolution. Today, mobile devices serve not only as a medium of voice communication, but are also used to streamline daily activities. For instance, mobile banking allows clients to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. As the influence of mobile technology continues to grow, financial institutions need to develop applications that guarantee customer usability. Ergo, there is a need to explore the role user interface design plays in enhancing the usability of a mobile application. This document describes the design and evaluation processes of the user interface of a mobile banking application that provides three functions: payments, balance inquiries and transfers. An experiment is carried out to test two different user interface prototypes. The prototypes differ in the implementation of Nielsen heuristics’ for user interface design. Prototype A is designed empirically, whereas prototype B is based on the application of Nielsen’s rules. Usability tests results demonstrate that credit union customers appraise the user interface designed according to the heuristics as more usable than the empirical one.