Why Traditional Mobile Banking Apps Are Reaching Their Limits and How Agentic UI Will Replace Them

Every major shift in digital banking has started with a problem that could no longer be ignored. Moving from branches to online banking addressed the need for convenience. The move from online to mobile banking apps gave customers access to their finances anywhere and anytime.

Now a new challenge is emerging. Even the best mobile banking apps are beginning to show their limits.

Neobanks like Revolut and Nubank have set the standard for modern design and strong user experience. Yet as they expand into super apps offering trading, insurance, travel bookings and shopping, the trade-off becomes clear. Each new product competes for space on the screen. Menus get deeper, journeys get longer and customers struggle to find the value that drew them in.

This is not a problem that affects only challengers. Traditional banks face it too.

When more becomes too much

To keep things manageable, many banks have split their offerings into separate apps. One for personal banking. One for businesses. Another for young customers. Another for wealth and investments.

This approach makes each app less cluttered, but it creates a new problem: fragmentation. Customers need multiple logins, must switch between different designs, and face inconsistent experiences.

It is also expensive. Separate apps require separate development teams, separate technology platforms and separate infrastructure. That is duplication of cost without duplication of value.

The next breakthrough will not be about creating more apps or adding more menu tabs. It will be about creating a single intelligent experience that recognises each customer, understands the products they use and knows how to make their life easier.

Personalisation that means something

Banks often talk about personalisation in terms of letting customers change colours, switch to dark mode or rearrange widgets. In reality that is not personalisation. Studies consistently show that the vast majority of customers never change default settings.

True personalisation is proactive. It guides customers through their financial journeys and anticipates what they will need next. A small business owner logging in on payroll day should see cash flow projections and quick-pay links before anything else. A frequent traveller should see currency exchange, travel insurance and lounge access in the weeks before a trip.

Enter agentic UI

Agentic UI represents the next step in the evolution of mobile banking. It is a conversational, adaptive, AI-powered interface that learns from each customer’s profile, behaviour and context in real time.

Instead of navigating static menus, customers interact with an intelligent agent. The interface adapts to who is using it, when they are using it and why they have come.

This is the type of experience that Finpace helps financial institutions bring to life. With the right integration, one app can serve every customer segment and every product line without compromising on simplicity or clarity.

Benefits for customers and for the business

For customers, Agentic UI means fewer clicks, faster answers and the feeling that their bank truly understands them.

For the bank, it brings higher engagement because customers do not have to search for value, lower support costs because there are fewer “how do I…” queries, reduced technology spend by removing the need for multiple apps, and faster launches of new products because they can be introduced contextually to the right customers. Platforms like Finpace, Kasisto, Personetics, and Glia are already making these capabilities possible today. Finpace focuses on unifying multiple product lines into a single adaptive banking app, Kasisto enables natural language conversations that feel human, Personetics powers hyperpersonalized recommendations and goal-based journeys, and Glia integrates real-time AI assistance into the customer’s digital session. Together, they are proving that Agentic UI is not a distant vision but an achievable standard for forward-thinking financial institutions.

Learning from other industries

Other industries have already moved in this direction. Netflix recommends what to watch without asking. Google Maps adjusts travel time based on live traffic. These are systems that adapt to the user, not the other way around.

Banking can work the same way. The difference is that financial journeys are more complex, more regulated and often more sensitive. Agentic UI, enabled by platforms like Finpace, can make those journeys simple, relevant and compliant without losing the personal touch.

The road ahead

The case for Agentic UI is becoming stronger every day. As super apps grow and traditional banks seek to unify their offerings, one adaptive app that delivers the right experience to the right customer at the right time is becoming the logical next step.

Those who start exploring this now will have a clear advantage, not only in customer satisfaction but also in cost efficiency and time to market.