Tatra banka, the leading commercial bank in Slovakia, looked to EffectiveUI to help guide the strategy and creation of the application, including design and development.

Mobile Strategy combined with Innovation
Answering demand from its customers, Tatra banka aimed to not only be first to market with a mobile banking application on the iPhone, but also "right to market" by focusing on its customers and what they need from a mobile banking application. The bank turned to EffectiveUI, a full-service user experience agency to help convert customer insight into a compelling, powerful application.

By incorporating user needs and goals throughout the custom application process, the application provides a convenient way for customers to perform banking transactions from anywhere. The Tatra banka iPhone app has been widely adopted, with more than 6,700 downloads in the first month of availability.

"The usability, scale, and magnitude of the Tatra banka iPhone application surpasses many other mobile banking applications available in the region today," said Branislav Jarábek, head of electronic distribution channels development department, Tatra banka. "EffectiveUI helped implement a mobile strategy with an app that gives us a competitive edge while retaining loyal customers."

User-Centered Approach
In order to identify key features and maximize the user experience, EffectiveUI crafted the design based on user analysis provided by Tatra banka's own extensive research and data.

The interface was designed to provide a consistent experience with Tatra banka's online banking system, but also took into consideration the way customers use their iPhones by offering easy access to the most common banking tasks and keeping menus high-level. Customers can quickly:

Make payments in real time
Check online balances on the accounts and credit cards
View online account and credit card transactions with full details
Repay outstanding balances on the credit card
Access message inbox
Locate ATMs and branch locations
Look up current exchange rates

Developed with iOS, the Tatra banka iPhone application also incorporates important security features that keep customers' information safe. An authentication and authorization mechanism based on chip card's EMV CAP/DPA functionality is built in, and strong encryption keeps online banking transactions secure. Closing the application automatically logs the user out of the system, providing an added level of security.

"Tatra banka had the right mindset in focusing on not only innovation, but also customer needs when they envisioned this application," said Rebecca Flavin, CEO, EffectiveUI. "Working with this client across geographies and languages, together we created a critical brand touchpoint that provides utility and value for the bank's customers."