First Tech Federal CU 4+

Good but not great

I've been using this mobile banking app for over three years now. I can do whatever I need to do re: banking, but this latest version seems a step or two backwards. Previous versions let one use touch ID to login. That's gone now. REALLY WANT then to bring Touch-ID login back!!! Previous versions of the mobile deposit feature worked really great! You entered your details, manually snapped a picture of the front and the back of the check, making sure you had all four corners within the boundaries of the picture, and Bingo! Your deposit was in. This version automatically snaps the pictures when it thinks the four corners are within the boundaries. You'd think that would be a good idea, but actually it's a lot harder to work with, and a lot harder to get an acceptable picture. Sometimes newer isn't really better.

It used to be better

I’ve been using this app for about three years. I’ve never had a single issue until they updated their app and removed the feature to make a principal payment. Why would you update the app and remove a feature? That seems counterintuitive. Anyway, the app says that I can make an extra payment if I want, but depending on my loan depends on if it’s applied to the interest or the principal. It doesn’t give any more details on that. It also says to call their helpdesk if you’d like to make a principal-only payment. That defeats the convenience of having the app if I’m going to have to call each month to pay down the principal. When I call, whether it’s in the morning or afternoon, the hold time is ridiculous. I was on hold for almost 30 minutes before I had to hang up to take care of other things. To add insult to injury, the prerecorded voice over while on hold tells me to use the app to make things quicker and more convenient. That is just frustrating. I can’t be waiting on the phone for so long to do something that took 10 seconds on the app. This is excruciatingly annoying. Please update the app and bring back the feature to make principal payments towards your loans.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the comment and I’m sorry to hear the issues you’ve had since the removal of the principal only payment option. We are working to bring this feature back to the app and desktop online banking. However at this time we do not have an ETA. I also wanted to let you know that I’ve submitted your feedback regarding the hold time message you received while attempting to reach us by phone to our Contact Center leadership team to review.

Needs a bit of work

Overall, I love this app, it’s super easy to do my banking with, and I love the new snapshot screen!
I also have 2 issues:
The first is that the snapshot screen ALWAYS tells me I have 1 new notification awaiting my attention, and when I click on that I have to log in and it takes me straight to my regular banking screen and there are no notifications that I can find. It’s probably just my monthly statement or something, but it bugs the crap out of me.
Second, the check deposit feature has an extremely hard time focusing on checks now, and constantly asks me to put the check on a darker background. It works eventually, but takes about 10 minutes. With me trying the check on different surfaces.
Anyways, great app, just needs a bit of fine tuning!