Citibank’s Weber Says the Line Between Desktops and Mobile is Going Away

Under managing director of Internet and mobile Tracey Weber, Citigroup is deepening its involvement in touch-centric technologies. For now that means smartphone and tablet apps, but Weber has her eye on desktops and laptops, too.

She told Bank Innovation, “The line between desktops, laptops and mobile, is going away. Touch is coming to desktops and laptops. The mouse will go away.”

Citibank completed a redesign of its online banking site in November 2011 and updated its Android app on January 30 and its iOS app in December 2012. A major addition to online functionality with the November 2011 redesign was personal financial management (PFM.) PFM was rolled out to mobile apps in the December 2012 updates to Android and iOS.

Weber was recognized as Mobile Banker of the Year by American Banker in June 2012, and Forrester Research saluted Citibank as the safest major bank site earlier this month.

Citibank’s mobile and online products are both separate but connected in terms of the user experience. Part of Citibank’s most recent redesign was unifying the UX across its online and mobile channels. The design teams studied data of how users navigated the channels. The goal was not to get customers to linger on the site, but rather accomplish their tasks in the most efficient manner possible, with the fewest clicks.

PFM is also a major part of Citibank’s latest rollouts. Banks are big fans of PFM, but the fire hasn’t spread to customers so far. Different channels present different environments for users, however unified the branding and design, and PFM may find its best home on the tablet.

“The tablet environment is naturally more immersive,” Weber said. “There is room for a lot of content — for example, a section on how to go about buying your first house.” Aggregated data presents helpful information and guidance for the customer, and opportunities for cross-selling to the bank.

“We wanted to simplify the experience and make it more modern,” Weber said. Paying attention to customer usage patterns and adjusting the site accordingly, as Citi has done, is the shortest path to a superior user experience.

As the user experiences of smartphone, tablet and desktop/laptop converge, the unified branding across Citibank’s channels should ease the way for customers to have a consistent brand experience across channels.

Citigroup, Inc. has assets of $1.9 trillion.