Bank of the West's Quick Balance Mobile App Wins Monarch Innovation Award For Most Innovative Product/Feature in Business Banking

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of the West today announced that its Quick Balance mobile app won the Monarch Innovation Award for Most Innovative 2014 Product/Feature. The award was presented by Barlow Research Associates during a Webcast held earlier today.  The annual award is presented to financial institutions and industry partners in recognition of business to business innovations. 

Quick Balance is a groundbreaking mobile banking app that provides customers with an unmatched user experience to better manage their finances with the swipe of their finger. Through Quick Balance, Bank of the West has revolutionized the way mobile banking is done, allowing customers to easily access the information that matters to them the most, including:

• The ability to view up to five account balances at once without logging in
• A 30-day view of pending payments and eBills for iPad® users
• An in-app messaging tool that allows customers to receive personalized and contextual messages from the bank such as a product promotion or link to an educational video on the bank's YouTube channel

The bank won the award following a thorough evaluation process that required the bank to submit a detailed written entry and present the Quick Balance feature to a team of Monarch judges, many of whom are recognized industry experts and influencers.

"This award further acknowledges Bank of the West as an industry leader in mobile banking," said Jamie Armistead, senior vice president of multi-channel banking at Bank of the West. "We have raised the bar for building a banking app that embraces the best user experiences available today. Bank of the West has pushed the envelope with Quick Balance, and we're very pleased the Monarch Award jury – and the industry overall – is taking notice."

"Bank of the West has clearly provided its customers with a product that not only addresses the needs of mobile banking users, but does so in an innovative and novel way," said John Barlow, president of Monarch/Barlow Research Associates, Inc. "Quick Balance has changed the way business customers do their banking, providing reliable and quick service within seconds. As technology continues to progress, Bank of the West is clearly at the forefront of meeting customer demand in new and innovative ways."

Although Quick Balance has only been available to customers for about a year, user activity demonstrates the value of the platform. Active Quick Balance customers perform an average of 14.5 transactions per month and more than 10 percent of mobile banking users have opted in for the service.

"Small business owners are among our most time-starved customers, and we're constantly innovating to provide them with services that add real value and best meet their needs. No other North American bank enables small business owners to view up to five accounts without logging in to their mobile app, and we appreciate Barlow Research Associates for recognizing this unique and in-demand feature, which delights our customers and makes us stand out among our peers," said Michelle Di Gangi, executive vice president of small & medium enterprise banking at Bank of the West.

Quick Balance is available for download on the 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 190,000 employees, including 145,000 in Europe.

About the Monarch Innovation Awards
Developed to recognize innovation in the financial services industry, the Monarch Innovation Award is the first award of its kind. The award is named after the monarch to symbolize the rebirth that results when old formulas and methods give way to new ways of doing things. The Monarch Innovation Awards are presented by Barlow Research Associates, Inc.

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SOURCE Bank of the West