Dhaka Bank has launched its mobile app ‘Dhaka Bank Go’ recently with an ambition to ensure convenience and superior service experience for its users. This is part of a larger trend where an increasing number of financial organizations are embracing technology in the country. A digital future is slowly gaining momentum. Today, a growing number of people are receiving their banking and financial service through internet and mobile. (Disclaimer: Dhaka Bank is one of our native ad partners but this story is prepared independently by our editorial team)
One reason is that a great internet banking experience offers unparallel convenience to customers who can conduct their banking activities sitting at home or office than commuting to a physical branch every time braving notorious Dhaka traffic saving them potential time, hassle and cost.
This trend is already picking up. A McKinsey survey suggests that in emerging Asia, more than 50 percent of consumers said they were willing to shift some of their holdings to a bank that offers a compelling digital proposition. The number is over 80% for developed Asian markets.
At the same time, a strong digital wing offers potential cost-savings for banks. A seamless internet banking service not only improves customers experience but also saves money by significantly reducing the number of people visiting your branch which reduces the number of queues and human resources to handle that. Ultimately, it results in reducing management cost of a branch.
Dhaka Bank Go - beyond mobile banking
Dhaka Bank has been talking about greater tech adaptation for a while now. In an interview with Future Startup, Dhaka Bank CEO, Syed Mahbubur Rahman suggests that the bank plans to apply tech more rigorously in all aspects of its operations. ‘Go’ is one of the major steps towards that direction.
The bank launched it with great fanfare. Before launching, “We tested the app internally for months in order to perfect it, seal potential security loopholes and improve experience before giving it to our users,” says Anwar Ehtesham, Head of Communications and Branding of the Bank. “Now that it is available to Dhaka Bank users, what can you do with this app?” “A lot”, says Mr. Anwar.
Mobile is an intimate device. We spend more time with our mobile phones nowadays than our wives or anyone else for that matter. Securing a place in anyone’s mobile phone is the most expensive and precious real estate one can get. That is the reason why despite the failure of so many apps in the market, new apps are launching every day.
One of the most important thing about any app is user experience. Mr. Ehtesham tells us that ‘Go’ offers one of the best user experience for any mobile banking app available in the market. “We have spent a huge amount of time in perfecting the interface and usability of the app in order to minimize friction as much as possible.”
It is almost over a month since Dhaka Bank launched the app. Today the app has over three thousands active users. “The interesting thing is we did not receive any major complaint yet and we are constantly collecting feedback from our users. Moreover, this initial user growth has been entirely organic. We are in process of launching a marketing effort for the app but we did not push it yet.” Dhaka Bank plans to reach out to more users through rigorous communication in the next few months.
Having a mere mobile banking app is no more a point of major distinction because almost every bank in the country either has one or is investing in the space. However, coming across something which is materially distinct is still rare. Most of the available apps are either too generic or don’t offer much to the users. However, Mr. Ehtesham claims that ‘Dhaka Bank Go’ is unique. “Our ambition is higher. Our CEO and Managing Director considers this as a game changing product for Dhaka Bank”.
The bank is working to integrate more services and payment options to the app. The goal is to make sure that you can get all the payment related things done from the app starting from bill payment and mobile top-up to shopping and booking, says Mr. Ehtesham. The ambition is to make sure that our users get most out of the app and it makes their lives easy. We are already in talks with a few partners, he adds.
Why this matter
Banking on a mobile platform is the thing for the future. The convergence of financial services and technology is inevitable. People will increasingly opt for digital banking services given the nature of lifestyle and convenience.
A growing number of banks are now launching mobile apps. The interesting thing about ‘Dhaka Bank Go’ is that it not only allows you to pay bills, or manage your account or conduct banking from anywhere anytime but also it promises to bring your other benefits like enabling shopping payments from the app, although the option is not available yet.
As we recently reported, mobile is eating Bangladesh. It is not only changing how we communicate, it is changing how we consume and shop. That said, space and attention both are in short supply when it comes to mobile, in order to succeed mere presence is not enough and you have to make sure that your app does something that is indispensable.
(Mohammad Tashnim contributed to this story. Also, this story borrows from a similar story on Standard Chartered Bank mobile banking app)
