NAB redesigns app & online banking for retail customers

NAB has introduced a redesigned app and internet banking experience for retail customers using its digital channels.

The changes group account, savings, bill visibility and security functions into customisable sections designed to reduce scrolling and taps. Customers log in to the app and internet banking about 120 million times each month, and the redesign focuses on making common tasks easier to access.

The overhaul was shaped by customer feedback and pressure on household budgets. Revised features include tools to forecast spending, view incoming bills, adjust loan repayments and review available home equity.

Pete Steel, Group Executive for Digital, Data & AI at NAB, said digital services now account for almost all interactions with the bank.

"Around 98% of banking interactions with us are digital and these channels are fundamental to the relationship customers have with us," Steel said. "They consistently tell us they want banking that feels simple, helpful and safe. We want to support them well at a time we know budgets are under more pressure and every dollar is precious."

"We've taken direct customer feedback and focused on providing them with clearer visibility of incoming bills, easier access to savings tools and improved functionality to manage loan repayments or investigate equity they can tap into."

Security changes

A central part of the redesign is a reworked security area in the app. It brings together tools such as biometric validation, transaction limits and options to flag suspicious activity in a single space.

NAB linked the change to a high volume of fraud-related contact, saying its fraud team receives more than 130,000 calls a month.

"What previously took seven taps is now a one-tap, one-stop shop where people can manage their security with features like biometric validation and transaction limits, as well as buttons to quickly flag anything amiss," Steel said.

He also gave a time-saving estimate for customers who regularly use those settings.

"Each month, 170,000 customers go to their security settings. If we save each two seconds, that's a collective four days of customer time saved each month, helping customers protect their money or get help if they need it," said Steel.

"It's this focus on practical, everyday usability that's contributed to the NAB App being Australia's most highly rated major bank app, as ranked by customers."

Rollout plan

The revised experience is being introduced progressively across the NAB App and internet banking. Customers will receive in-product notifications as the changes appear, along with guides explaining what the new features are and short walkthroughs of the revised layout.

For NAB, the redesign reflects the growing importance of mobile and online banking in its customer relationships. With such a large share of interactions now happening through digital channels, even small reductions in taps or screens can affect many users over time.

The bank has focused on features tied to everyday money management rather than a wholesale rebuild of its digital services. That includes making balances, bills, savings tools and lending functions easier to find from the main interface.

It also highlights how major lenders are using app design as a competitive tool, as customers spend more time with their bank on mobile devices rather than in branches or over the phone. Ease of use, account visibility and fraud response have become central areas of focus as banks try to retain customer attention in channels where switching costs can appear lower.

NAB said customer feedback will continue to shape future changes to its digital banking service, with the current redesign intended to match better how Australians manage and protect their money through online and mobile banking.