JPMorgan Chase refreshed its online banking homepage for the first time in three years yesterday. The result looks a lot like the bank’s recently revamped mobile site.
All the buzz is around mobile banking these days, but online banking still serves more people. Chase has nearly 40 million online users, vs. 21 million mobile users. The Chase.com reboot utilizes responsive design. Managing the experience is optimized depending on which device it is viewed on. Generally, the makeover puts it closely in line with the mobile experience.
The refreshed site also includes news and articles — a feature Chase launched on a separate site back in 2014, as did rival Wells Fargo. Now, however, the news is integral to the Chase site, and it is intended as a draw for traffic. The news stories focus on tips and advice for customers’ financial lives, but topics also cover more general interest stories and some stories designed to promote the bank brand.
The new site differs dramatically from Chase’s closest competitors, and instead resembles sites of FinTech innovators. It is heavy on photos, and Ad Age pointed out, it emphasizes “lifestyle” over “product.” It also features the “infinite scrolling effect” common to other responsive design sites and more natural language (“Sign in” instead of “Log in.”)
Last year, Chase released a major update to its mobile app, customizing it by region. The New York-area version features various glamour shots of the city, for example, plus Spanish-language capabilities, as well as various enhancements once the user is logged in. Yesterday’s rollout faithfully carries these experiences over to the online side, and it provides another sign that the mobile channel drives user experience across the digital banking world.
The online rollout is only the first part of a planned enhancement to the digital banking user experience, with more to come this fall, said Chase head of digital for consumer banking Gavin Michael, in a press release.