Does using banking apps feel like watching a silent movie?
Great apps have distinct, recognizable sounds that users associate with these apps. Listen to the sounds of Facebook, WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage etc – so many things from important notifications to random swipes can be accompanied by sounds that convey information, alert users or simply make the experience more enjoyable.
What kind of sounds can banking apps have to take user experience to the next level?
One category of sounds would be standard sounds that make app navigation feel more smooth, e.g. think how Facebook navigation bar selections are accompanied by sound to confirm to the user that the button was pressed, or the satisfying sound when you scroll the news feed down till the end and it rolls back up.
Another category where I see a lot of room for creativity would be sounds that are specific for banking apps.
Everyone likes getting paid, but no banking app in Canada has a sound to notify people about the moment they get their pay. Why not? Pay is usually deposited at some random, unknown time during the payday, but it is deposited silently and users have to check when they are getting paid. I am sure there are a lot of users who log in throughout the day into their banking apps to see whether the money is there or not. And what if there was a payroll mistake, or the pay is delayed? Having to log in to check adds unnecessary friction and disappointment when the money is not there – but when it is there, it doesn’t feel like a celebration.
Now imagine the app would celebrate getting paid with a pleasing, distinguishable sound. This could be something that users look forward to. Just like dating apps have a dedicated sound for the match moment, banking apps can have a sound for getting paid.
With Interac being a common method of transferring money between users in Canada, a lot of transfers happen silently. With autodeposit, users don’t even know that they got money into their account. Not celebrating this moment is a missed opportunity. Not having sound for getting paid steals joys from the users that should be so easy to add. Without autodeposit, users can choose email as a notification method. They might miss the email and get money later than they otherwise would. If they choose text to notify about incoming transfer, it just becomes another text sound, not a special sound that is associated with getting paid.
Similarly, there could be sound to alert users about upcoming payments that they could miss if they don’t complete some actions, or to alert users of suspicious activity or a new credit score or other important events.
Every phone has a speaker and a silent mode to turn sounds off. I can’t see the argument for not using sounds and having a permanent silent mode that users can’t quit. The transition from silent films to talkies happened in the 1920s with primitive technology by today’s standards. How much longer are we going to have silent banking apps?