Case Study

GLS Bank

Modern banking app - with a focus on sustainability

5 stars Appstore rating - Joshukawon, 04.11.2022

Great that there is finally a new app that will soon be equipped with additional functions. I had recently been looking for a second bank for everyday spending that offers a more contemporary user experience. That no longer seems to be necessary. I'm looking forward to the further development. For me, being able to select which accounts are summarized in the main view for the total amount is already a real added value compared to the old mBank app. This makes it easy to hide amounts in savings accounts and shares...

GLS Bank has made a statement with its new banking app: Sustainability and user-friendliness are not a contradiction in terms. Together with the innovative and passionate team at CodingPassion, an app was developed that not only enables fast and uncomplicated banking, but also offers the opportunity to live a more climate-neutral life and focus on sustainable projects. The collaboration between GLS Bank and CodingPassion was characterized by passion, customer orientation and transparency. The CEO of GLS Bank, Dirk Kannacher, recommends working with CodingPassion to anyone looking for a transparent partner for customer-centric development. With the new app, GLS Bank is ready for the future and shows that sustainability and user-friendliness can be an unbeatable combination.

Abstract

A key decision criterion for young people when choosing an (app) product is user-friendliness. This is illustrated by almost all successful tech start-ups such as Uber, Airbnb, Netflix and co. Banking apps are no different, as neo banks like N26 show. In order not to lose touch with the next generation and not be overtaken by the competition, GLS Bank has decided to develop a second, more modern banking app with a focus on sustainability.

CodingPassion made a significant contribution to the design and development of this app. The most interesting features here were the impact board, on which projects and companies supported by GLS can be tracked, the uncomplicated and fast user onboarding process, with which users can open their account just as easily as with apps from the neo-banks, and the design of a CO2 tracker, which helps customers to make more climate-neutral purchases.

"As GLS Bank, it was important for us to have a partner at our side who understands our sustainability standards and is prepared to break new ground for us. CodingPassion works with great passion to develop features based on customer feedback that our customers enjoy using.

They have not only helped us to understand our younger target group even better, but in particular to design and realize the app according to their requirements. CP makes no compromises when it comes to implementing customer-centric development and great design. I can highly recommend working with CodingPassion if you are looking for a transparent service provider who works with heart, hand and mind."

Dirk Kannacher – Management Board

Who is GLS Bank?

GLS Bank is a pioneer in socio-ecological banking and since 1974 has been committed to transparent financial markets that focus on people's needs and the financing of real business. GLS Bank ensures that money works where it is needed from a social, ecological and cultural point of view - by companies, charitable institutions and individuals.

With its sustainable banking business, it sets forward-looking standards for responsible business and social change**.** It was not only named Bank of the Year 2022 but also holds first place in the Fair Finance Guide.

Target state

As a solution, GLS decided to work with VisualVest to develop a completely redesigned banking app that would be more attractive to the young target group and could also be used as a VisualVest white label product.

Particularly interesting and challenging was the conception of the sustainability section within the app, for which CodingPassion was specifically commissioned (in addition to the conception & co-development). It was extremely important to GLS Bank not only to have a good banking app that covers all the rudimentary account functions. Rather, it also wanted to incorporate its educational mission of raising awareness of socio-ecological issues and demonstrating the impact of money.

Easing the burden on customer support through self-service features, such as pin allocation, also played a major role.

Efficient user onboarding process

After about 1 1/2 years of development work, we are very satisfied with the results.

One of the most important parts of the app, the user onboarding process, which was conceptualized by CP, presented us with special challenges. After thorough research and benchmarking of the most successful banking apps - namely those of the neo-banks - we came to the realization that it is possible to create a bank account many times faster with these apps than is the case with conventional banks. In some cases, it took less than 15 minutes to create a new bank account. In stark contrast, after registering with more traditional banks, you sometimes have to wait several weeks and fill out paperwork before you are ready.

Our business case analysis at the start of the onboarding project showed that just a 1% increase in the conversion rate would mean additional sales of €12.3 million. That's why we wanted to make onboarding as simple and intuitive as possible. Our approach was to guide users to successful account creation with as few clicks & input fields as possible. After all, as our research showed, every little resistance removed has a big impact on GLS Bank's turnover.

One of the main components of the onboarding process was the video identification procedure (POSTIDENT SDK), which allows users to simply verify their identity on their smartphone. Without this uncomplicated identification procedure, users had to go to a GLS Bank branch or post office to identify themselves before they could open an account.

Of particular interest to developers was the fact that Deutsche Post had not yet provided a Flutter plugin for this (only native for iOS & Android) and we first had to develop one.

The implementation of automatic address completion was also intended to help users reach their destination as quickly as possible.

Challenges in development

There were a few challenges that we had to overcome during the technical implementation of the app. As GLS Bank was still using an older core banking system that was not sufficient for modern use cases, we had to implement a lot of logic in the backend ourselves in order to meet today's app standards. This included, for example, sophisticated caching logic so that users could load transactions, account balances and other data as quickly as possible. We also had to request some interface adjustments from the core banking system provider so that we could develop the app at all.

Another major hurdle was the integration of VisualVest's robo-advisor. The robo-advisor is a stand-alone app that can be used to make intelligent investments automatically. Part of the project was to fully integrate this independent app into the banking app. The main challenges that the developers had to overcome were compatibility issues and theming.

As already mentioned, the banking app was not only to be developed for GLS Bank, but also by VisualVest as a white label solution for other banks. As GLS is fundamentally different from all other banks, it was also important for GLS to have special features (in the area of sustainability) that other banks cannot offer in this form. A major challenge was to make the app multi-tenant capable, so that all theming elements (e.g. icons, colors, texts, illustrations) can be exchanged, but still meet the special requirements of GLS. However, we were able to successfully implement this using intelligent scripts that are executed before the code is compiled and feature toggles.

Sustainability in the app

Another area of the app that was conceptualized, designed and developed exclusively by CodingPassion is the impact and sustainability area of the app. As a socio-ecological bank, GLS was keen to raise awareness of socio-ecological issues within the app and to demonstrate the impact of money.

The design of a CO2 footprint tracker was particularly exciting. Customers can use this to track their own CO2 emissions and receive helpful tips on how they can reduce them. The compatibility of their own lifestyle with the climate target of 1.5 degrees can also be measured.

On the Impactboard, users can learn more about GLS's 6 impact areas - Social & Health, Housing, Renewable Energies, Education & Culture, Food, Sustainable Economy - through interesting articles. A feature that many GLS customers are particularly pleased about.

The Impactboard also offers a map view where users can view projects and sustainable companies supported by GLS.

Outlook

Dirk Kannacher - Management Board

"Very committed, dynamic and above all passionate about what they do. They understand current challenges and know how to tackle them and creatively solve identified problems. CP also has the courage to disrupt the business model or the user experience in order to achieve the best possible result for the customer.

It was clear from the start that this was no ordinary project. The team was wholeheartedly committed and shared the purpose. They have a deep understanding of GLS Bank's purpose and what the app wants to achieve. CP is characterized above all by a strong connection to the target group and an understanding of the customer perspective. This made them an ideal sparring partner."

Gibran Armijo - Advisor to the Board in Innovation Technologies

"Young, wild and digital company that doesn't just offer app development and technical solutions, but works in an absolutely meaningful and sustainability-oriented way.CP supported GLS Bank with the app development. In particular, CodingPassion has always integrated the user's perspective into the decision-making process through its user-centered approach to ensure that the feature is used enthusiastically. CP is an honest sparring partner and asks the right questions at the right time.

On a personal level, it was always very appreciative and a very friendly atmosphere. You have a lot of passion for the topics. You don't need much convincing. You have a passion for impact topics and sustainability."

Dr. Jens Heidingsfelder - Senior consultant for impact transparency and sustainability management

"Very dynamic, open and enthusiastic. They drive things forward intrinsically and know how to get others on board. Reliable in all matters. By designing the new GLS Banking app in a very customer-centric way, CodingPassion has managed to make complex sustainability issues accessible and understandable to users - so that the app is easy to use. For example, the preparation of the individual CO2 footprint. A year of intensive collaboration with CodingPassion flew by."

Daniel Schneider - Senior consultant for impact transparency and sustainability

"The name says it all. Passionate, customer-centric work paired with expertise without losing sight of the stakeholders. CP always designs and develops products from the user's perspective. With a structured approach, CodingPassion not only supported us in app development, but also focused on a user-centered end product. Professional user testing ensured that end consumers really understood the impact."

David Pormann - Communications and Development Officer

Case Study

GLS Bank

Modern banking app - with a focus on sustainability

5 stars Appstore rating - Joshukawon, 04.11.2022

Industry

Banking & Finance

Service

Mobile App

Technology

Flutter

Java Spring Boot

Docker

Sketch

Abstract

Who is GLS Bank?

321.000

Customers

104.000

Members

100%

Sustainable

Initial situation

Target state

Efficient user onboarding process

Challenges in development

Sustainability in the app

Outlook

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