Consumers are increasingly using their computers and cell phones to carry out their day-to-day banking transactions. To examine the quality of their experience with these new tools, we conducted exploratory research into the legibility, intelligibility and accessibility of content on transactional websites and mobile banking services.
There are international standards governing the accessibility of web content. These standards include guidelines on readability, usability and comprehensibility. Our research suggests that financial institutions doing business in Canada and the federal government could do more to ensure that the information on their sites is accessible to all Canadians.
Our focus group participants report that they are generally satisfied with the iPhone applications they use for their day-to-day banking. On the other hand, some participants perceive mobile banking to be less secure than computer banking.
We had a legibility expert examine the main page and transactional area of several websites of financial institutions doing business in Canada. Generally speaking, the expert believes that these main pages and transactional zones are legible and intelligible.
