If you’re a fan of the old TV show “Happy Days,” you know Fonzie and Potsie. If you don’t know the show, here’s a quick sum-up of the two characters: Both were good dudes, but while one (Potsie) managed to, at best, fit in with the crowd, the other (Fonzie, also known as “The Fonz”) stuck out as the coolest person in any room, destined to be remembered for a long time. If you’re a bank executive, you want your brand’s app to be a Fonzie, awesome and well liked (and, ideally, able to turn on a jukebox with a single tap).

Here’s a line from Fonzie’s Wikipedia page that offers a glimpse of why banks would want to be like the Fonz: “Fonzie would at times demonstrate an almost magical ability to manipulate technology . . . ” Digital banking teams should aim to create some of their own magic when using mobile apps and emerging technologies to form better experiences for mobile banking customers.

But most banks’ apps are Potsies, not Fonzies: adequate but far from spectacular.

To look more deeply at this problem, I will be presenting and hosting a panel at American Banker’s Digital Banking 2019 conference in Austin, Texas later this month (June 19–21). My session will cover the state of mobile banking and how you can turn your bank’s app into a Fonzie. Specifically, we’ll talk about:

• How different banking brands are differentiating through mobile experiences.

• Where banking is heading and what you should have on your road maps.

• Why more banks should design mobile apps that evoke positive emotions.

Please consider joining me* in Texas: Find out more about the event here.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

* If you do come, send me an email at pwannemacher@forrester.com and we can grab some coffee!