How we moved corporate banking customers onto a native app
A 0-to-1 native banking app, and an onboarding journey that got every customer through it.
Native app shipped to iOS and Android
Of customers onboarded successfully
App stores at launch
iOS and Android, not a wrapped web view
The challenge
NatWest Markets customers were managing international payments through desktop web. Moving them to a native app meant asking people to start again: download, register, verify identity, set up security - all before seeing a single balance.
Onboarding was the whole risk. Every step between the App Store and the first payment was a chance to lose someone who was perfectly happy on web.
What we did
We designed the onboarding around one insight: every step has to pay the customer back immediately. Nothing is asked for without saying what it unlocks.
Biometric setup wasn’t "set up your fingerprint for security." It was "set up your fingerprint so you can access your banking instantly." Same step, completely different positioning. Adoption was high because the value was obvious.
The rest of the app was built to feel native rather than a wrapped web view: system-standard gestures and navigation, Face ID for approvals, real push notifications, and a first session that ends on a live balance rather than a settings screen.
The outcome
The result: a 0-to-1 banking app that launched on both App Store and Google Play, with every customer who started onboarding completing it - and full PSD2 compliance met from day one.
