– Nationwide and IPL launch acclaimed mobile banking app as part of its commitment to offer customers extensive capabilities and functions across multiple channels –

21ST March 2013: Nationwide, the world’s largest building society has launched an app for iOS and Android for customers to manage their personal finances. Built by IPL, an IT services company specialising in mission critical IT solutions and consultancy, along with IBM, within the 100 days of the app being available, the iOS version alone had been downloaded over 430,000 times and had secured a five star rating – the only UK financial services app to do so.

The mobile platform is the latest part of Nationwide’s investment in its wider multi-channel framework; a framework that has been designed, implemented and supported by IPL. Nationwide’s refreshed and re-launched online bank, which went live in November 2011, was purposefully designed with cross-channel integration in mind, making the development and launch of a new mobile app the next strategic step in providing Nationwide’s approx 5 million current account customers with a true, dedicated mobile offering.

The app has been designed and built entirely from a customer perspective, with significant input from customer focus groups who have highlighted the ‘must have’ features and usability requirements, coupled with IPL’s expertise in the development of ergonomically designed user-friendly applications. IPL has worked with Nationwide to ensure that the mobile app is supported by the most robust security architecture – a fundamental prerequisite of any mobile app that enables sensitive functions, such as the ability to view account balances and statements and to make payments and transfers.

Emma Goodwin, Managing Director Commercial Business Unit at IPL, comments, “We have been working with Nationwide for many years now and its desire to provide the very best services and capabilities across all its customer channels has been consistently very clear. From the outset, the online bank was designed with further channels in mind, not just from a technical perspective, but also from the customer service standpoint. The multi-channel framework underpinning this service has been built using IPL’s extensive experience and expertise in designing and delivering highly secure business-critical services across all channels. Delivering a level of security and stability that fully supports Nationwide’s customer-centric view. The fact that within the first seven days of the soft launch, the iOS version of the app was downloaded 40,000 times and in turn has secured a five star rating speaks for itself – Nationwide has once again demonstrated its leading role in the provision of financial services to its customers.”.