Bank App Customers Worry About Self-Inflicted ‘Fat Finger Error’

Has concern about fat finger errors gone mainstream?

Years ago, the worry was almost exclusively associated with trading. The industry responded by putting prevention measures in place. Dollar or share limits were established, authorization became required for trades outside of usual bands, and trading algorithms were used to minimize the risk of human error.

But what are the safeguards when Susie is standing in her kitchen attempting to transfer money between accounts using her bank’s mobile app? Did she mean to transfer $8,000, or was it supposed to be $800? 

Roughly a quarter of banking app users are dissatisfied because they find it too easy to make mistakes, according to new survey data from PYMNTS.com and Entersekt.

Security concerns was another regularly cited area of dissatisfaction among respondents:

“Our analysis reveals widespread consumer interest in choosing their authentication methods (cited by 93.1 percent), adding login authentication methods (89.1 percent) and accessing transaction-specific authentication controls (86.5 percent). Their reasons are simple. Having such controls would make many feel safer, as cited by 66.6 percent of interested consumers as the main reason for desiring additional app controls.”

In a world where consumers have come to expect tailored experiences and choice, it follows that users would also place these expectations on their financial technology tools.