The traditional banks will never be good at UX because they can't attract the talent. Their apps are always a bloated mess of web views. I loved Simple because it lived up to it's name -- it was dead SIMPLE! For example, 99% percent of the time when I open the app I just wanted to view the list of my transactions. Many banks can't even do that right. Other than that I primarily just want to move money in and out as easily as possible.
One example of a well executed front end / back end model is the Apple Card where Goldman Sachs manages the back end. The Apple Card doesn't have the best rates and rewards programs but to be honest I don't give two shits about any of that. I want it to "just work" like the iOS home screen. I want notifications not to be a buggy mess. I want fast and reliable access to support.
If Apple does checking accounts (backed by Goldman or whoever) and checked the basic feature set I'd switch to them instantly. Everyone's finances are getting more complicated with more subscriptions and such. Despite this headwind I still want to spend as little time as possible poking around a UX from hell as possible.
Simple was also running on a legacy bank back end... until they got shut down that is. Nothing can really prevent startups from selling out. (Obviously we don't have to worry about Apple being bought by Goldman and shut down.)
Capital One managed to buy Adaptive Path so it's possible to attract the talent in some cases.
The traditional banks will never be good at UX because they can't attract the talent. Their apps are always a bloated mess of web views. I loved Simple because it lived up to it's name -- it was dead SIMPLE! For example, 99% percent of the time when I open the app I just wanted to view the list of my transactions. Many banks can't even do that right. Other than that I primarily just want to move money in and out as easily as possible.
One example of a well executed front end / back end model is the Apple Card where Goldman Sachs manages the back end. The Apple Card doesn't have the best rates and rewards programs but to be honest I don't give two shits about any of that. I want it to "just work" like the iOS home screen. I want notifications not to be a buggy mess. I want fast and reliable access to support.
If Apple does checking accounts (backed by Goldman or whoever) and checked the basic feature set I'd switch to them instantly. Everyone's finances are getting more complicated with more subscriptions and such. Despite this headwind I still want to spend as little time as possible poking around a UX from hell as possible.