Michal Marek [youtube id=”WxBKSgqcjP0″ width=”620″ height=”360″]
The existence of a mobile application and its possible quality is slowly but surely becoming a non-negligible parameter that people take into account when choosing a bank. A successful banking application is an invaluable helper and often completely replaces classic internet banking, which is more complex, less clear and less accessible thanks to its countless functions and options.
While everyone always carries a mobile phone with them, a computer does not always have to be at hand. One of the banks that boasts a mobile app for iOS is mBank. How is this app, which recently appeared in the App Store in a completely new version, doing?
To mBank from the comfort of your home or even from the slopes
In order to test the mBank app, I had to open an account with the bank, which is something I would like to stop doing. I was impressed by how simple the process of opening an account with mBank is. The user has three options to deal with this bureaucratic process. I chose the option of establishment exclusively via the Internet. To my surprise, I had my account up and fully active within 24 hours, with the setup process as follows.
First, it was necessary to fill out a regular application via a web form on the mBank website. After submitting the application, I received an e-mail from mBank instructing me to send a double-sided copy of two identity documents and a statement from my bank account, the number of which I had previously entered in the form.
Within an hour, I received another e-mail about the approval of the application, and the last step remained, which was to send a verification payment (minimum 1 crown) from my account to the currently opened account with mBank.
As soon as the payment arrived in just half a day, I received an SMS with an activation number and I could immediately log in to the internet banking of my already fully active account.
Of course, an account with mBank can also be opened at a branch, and there is also the option of opening it through a courier, with whom you can make an appointment after completing the application to personally verify your identity. This will avoid the verification process described above with sending personal documents and sending a verification payment. Therefore, opening an account through a courier is perhaps a bit safer and, most importantly, does not require you to have another bank account.
Innovative payments via phone number
When you have an account with mBank, you can start using the mobile application almost immediately. It is enough to activate it through internet banking, by adding your device through a simple form and verifying it with a code that will be sent to you via SMS. After that, you just need to set a 5-8 character PIN number, which you will then use to access your account on your mobile phone. This PIN is also used to confirm transactions.
On first launch, you'll be greeted by the home screen, dominated by a circular diagram of controls. The largest button on the screen is "Payment", which is supplemented by three less prominent sub-options "To your own account", "To a person or company" and "Card installment". Below these options, there are three widgets with various handy reports. The first of them is a table of recent operations, then there is an overview of the nearest ATMs and branches complete with address, distance and the option to switch to the map, and the last overview is a list of financial operations scheduled for the next 7 days.
mBank is a relatively innovative bank, and the process of paying through the mobile application looks accordingly. In order to pay through it, you do not need to know the recipient's account number. If you use the "Pay" option and select "For a person or company", your list of contacts will appear in the application interface, from which you can select the recipient of the payment. After that, you just choose the amount and, if necessary, add a message for the recipient. He will then receive an SMS with a link to the web form, where he can accept the payment by entering his own account number.
Of course, it is also possible to send payment in the classic way. Just press the option "For a new recipient" and then select the option "New account". In this way, the well-known payment form will come out, thanks to which you can enter the payment by default "postara".
However, innovation with a phone number has two sides. Many will certainly be pleased that they do not have to know and enter a long account number to which they want to send their money. However, if you are used to traditional payments, the possibility of sending a payment via a phone number will delay you unnecessarily. There will be a whole series of intermediate steps that you have to go through before you can enter the desired payment.
But the mBank application is not only about payments. On the contrary, it tries to be the most comprehensive account management tool possible. Using the application, you can manage deposits and payment cards, get an overview of your loans or be guided to an ATM. An exchange rate card is also available, and you can also view an overview of planned payment operations. However, standing orders cannot be entered in the app, which is definitely a shame.
A very successful section of the mBank application is "History", which keeps an overview of movements in your account. It will be nice to be able to attribute individual transactions to individual categories, to assign labels to them, as well as verbal comments. Thanks to these criteria, payments can then be easily searched, as the section has a handy search field. In addition to these mentioned attributes, it can even search by amount. A filter is also practical, which will also facilitate orientation in outgoing and incoming payments.
Fast and easy to operate
Of course, the application also has some imperfection. In terms of convenience, for example, I missed the option to change the PIN requirement setting, because for security reasons, the app asks for a security code every time you exit the app, which can be really annoying. For example, I would like to be able to set a time interval during which the application will remain open, so that I can, for example, jump to another application without entering a PIN to copy the account number to which I want to send money. However, mBank puts security first, which cannot be criticized.
Conversely, one can see the account balance even without logging in. He can safely set it himself in the form that suits him best. Either it can be the classically displayed amount on the account, or it is possible to freely set a basis that only the owner knows, and even when opening the application in front of others, no one will know how much money is in the account anyway. Only a percentage of the predefined base is visible.
You set a ceiling (e.g. CZK 10 = 000%), and a value of 100% means your current account balance is CZK 75. For the uninitiated, the value of 7% is just a number from which they will not learn anything.
The application released in January of this year does not yet natively support iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as it is a localization of a Polish application that was created at the time of iPhone 5. But mBank is going to catch up soon. iPad support would probably also please many, but it is true that there are not too many banks that design their application for tablets as well. So mBank could be forgiven for not having an iPad version.
I'm also not a friend of the type of design and user interface that mBank has chosen, but I believe that people will appreciate the sophisticated graphic interface, clarity and, above all, simplicity of operation. Mobile applications on the domestic market are constantly being improved by all banks, so we can expect better and better mobile banking from mBank as well. The quality of the "bank on the phone" is today an increasingly decisive factor when choosing a bank.
If we leave aside the minor shortcomings, the mBank application fulfills its purpose and handles important tasks quickly and without unnecessary things - money transfer including login is faster than in internet banking and takes 30-60 seconds including authorization. Compared to the competition, it also offers the above-mentioned option to pay using a phone number, and you will also be pleased with the option of easy search in the transaction history and sorting of expenses into categories. If you are an mBank client or want to become one, the application will be a handy helper.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/mbank-cz/id468058234?mt=8]
Thanks for the good tip. I already tried the app from mBank once and it was worth a fart. This new version is significantly more usable. What it would like next time is to add support for Touch ID and it will be great.
It doesn't always work as it should, I tried to pay one order from Alza which didn't go through my Alza account or manually through the mBank app with the reason that I exceeded the transaction limit. Which was stupid, because I had the limit for the amount and the number set to an enormous 1000/1000 since the last similar experience. I was only able to send the payment through their internet banking website. I also wrote to support, but I haven't had the opportunity to test whether they fixed it yet. But I have to praise the app regarding processing, as well as their IB, which is definitely one of the best I've come across, and I've tried IB slsp, tb, vub and zuno, where TB probably held up best, but it doesn't stick to mBánkáki IB. So my verdict is IB 100% but apka 80%.
I also have to confirm not 100% functionality of this app. When entering payment through this application, I do not receive confirmation SMS codes. I waited half an hour and nothing. The payment could not be completed. I had to do it from IB where confirmation SMS No. 2 came immediately.
If anyone has any idea if this is a setting, please let me know. Thanks.
you confirm payments with the PIN code you use to log into the application.