News

Citi aims for nationwide reach with digital banking network

March 30, 2018

After hinting at the possibility in a recent earnings call, Citi has now made it official: The FI will launch comprehensive, new mobile capabilities on the Citi Mobile App for iPhone to create a national digital banking network.

New features slated for rollout in coming weeks include seamless in-app account opening, a 360-degree view across all financial accounts and spending insights to enhance clients' financial wellness, a press release said.

Even non-Citi clients will be able to create a profile and connect their accounts across financial services providers in order to take advantage of the apps features for account aggregation, spending insights and bill management.

Citi Global Consumer Bank CEO Stephen Bird issued a statement on the rollout:

Over the past few years, we have been transforming our U.S. retail bank into a growth engine in our core markets while developing new mobile banking capabilities as a platform to one day serve consumers nationwide. That day is here.

Consumers will be able to seamlessly open a Citibank account without ever visiting a branch and enjoy a suite of compelling products, the largest fee-free ATM network nationwide and powerful digital capabilities across lending, payments, investments and credit cards. There may be no more powerful single app in market today.

According to a new national survey by Citi of mobile banking users:

• 87 percent trust banks more than nonbank providers when it comes to handling their finances.
• 79 percent prefer to use a single mobile app to manage all aspects of their finances, rather than various specialty apps.
• 87 percent believe it would be easier to manage their finances with a consolidated view of all their accounts — including those at different banks or financial institutions.