Ukraine’s biggest bank PrivatBank is overhauling its mobile banking application.
The state-owned bank, which services 30 million bank cards, announced on Jan. 22 that it is upgrading its Privat24 app, the most popular banking app in Ukraine. It is used by 9 million people via mobile and desktop versions.
With a beta version rolling out in February, and the full upgrade by 2020, the app is to change significantly in terms of both design and functionality, according to Sergii Kharitich, the Chief Digital Officer of PrivatBank.
The main feature is that PrivatBank customers who also have the cards of other Ukrainian banks will be able to manage their other banks’ cards and accounts using the service. They will be able to add their non-PrivatBank cards to the app and use all the services the app currently gives PrivatBank card holders: transfer money, pay utility bills, manage spending, and top up phone credit, as well as shop online with PrivatBank partners.
However, to use Privat24, a person still has to be a PrivatBank customer in the first place.
Other new features include analytics of expenditures by category, and a search bar to look for things inside the app.
Privat24 will also change its design, to be more similar to the Apple Pay design. It will place bank accounts on the start screen. The accounts will look like virtual copies of one’s bank cards, and the interface will allow switching between them by swiping.
In future, however, the developers want to make the app’s home screen customizable so that app’s users can add there the various services they use most.
PrivatBank claims it has entirely rebuilt the “architecture” of the app, which will speed it up and “allow the service to be effectively developed in the future.”
PrivatBank has also announced that it is working on integrating into Privat24 Google Assistant — a voice assistant developed by Google and used on Android phones. The assistant will be able read out exchange rates, say how much money users have on their accounts, top up phone credits, and transfer money.
PrivatBank is waiting for Google to officially add the Ukrainian language to introduce this feature. The bank says it hopes this will happen in 2019.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
