Bank of the West Enhances First of its Kind, Pre-Login Quick Balance Feature

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to overwhelmingly positive customer feedback, Bank of the West today announced significant updates to Quick Balance, its groundbreaking and award-winning mobile banking feature that first launched in February, 2013. The bank also announced new mobile banking features that provide customers – from retail banking to wealth clients and small business owners – an unmatched user experience to better manage their finances with a swipe of their finger. The new features are available on iPhone^®, Android^® and iPad^®.

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• Quick Balance now enables users to view the balances of up to five accounts at a time; previously, only two accounts were viewable
• The Quick Balance for iPad application also features a 30-day view of pending payments and eBills
• Small business and wealth clients can receive higher, and tailored, increased mobile deposit limits up to $15,000; previously, all clients were capped at $5,000/month
• Dynamic in-app messaging service for real-time, personalized and contextual messages from the bank to customers, such as a product promotion or link to an educational video on the bank's YouTube channel

"When we launched our mobile platform in 2013 we achieved an aggressive goal, which was to deliver real value to customers on their mobile devices in a way that was also a 'first' for a North American bank," said Mathieu Krogstad, vice president of mobile banking and payments at Bank of the West. "Given the response we've had – particularly from small business owners and wealth clients – it's rewarding to know we've made such a positive impact on the way our customers engage and bank with us."

In fact, according to the Bank's data, since the 2013 launch:

• Mobile banking enrollments have increased 238 percent
• The average Quick Balance user accesses the feature about 15 times a month
• There has been a 333 percent increase in the bank's 90-day active mobile users, with a 73% active user rate

Customer feedback greatly informed this new set of enhancements and the Bank's mobile plans moving forward. "For example, our customers are so enamored with Quick Balance that they requested additional account views; they also told us they wanted higher mobile deposit limits. We were happy to oblige and better meet their needs with this new version," said Krogstad.

In related news, Bank of the West received the #1 ranking in this year's ath Power Small Business Ranking Study™, an annual study which assesses small business owners' banking experiences at financial institutions nationwide. Announced in January, the study revealed that 66 percent of small business owners said they would likely switch banks for one with a superior mobile offering.

Krogstad added, "We are motivated to create a positive experience for our customers. The findings of the ath Power Study enforce that we are on the right track."

"We've had phenomenal customer feedback, and mobile adoption has completely surpassed our expectations," said Jamie Armistead, senior vice president of multi-channel banking at Bank of the West. "Providing our users with a product that allows them to interact with their money in a way that's immediate and intuitive has allowed us to bring a superior tool to market and reaffirms to our customers that they are banking in the right place."

While these features allow customers to easily access their account information, Bank of the West continues to reinforce its commitment to safeguarding customer information by providing secure access via industry-standard encryption technology in addition to other privacy and security measures. As part of its policies, the bank never stores account numbers, account balances, check images or other confidential data on devices.

The new application is available for download on iPhone iPad and Android devices.

About Bank of the West
Founded in 1874, $65 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com), member FDIC and equal housing lender, offers a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 600 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees.

SOURCE Bank of the West