Designing Age‑Friendly Mobile Banking Apps: Key Principles and User Needs

Introduction

According to surveys, China's aging population ranks among the higher levels globally. The 2022 Government Work Report emphasizes actively responding to aging, optimizing urban and rural elderly care services, and promoting high‑quality development of the aging industry, making it a national strategy.

In November 2020, the State Council issued a plan to address seniors' difficulties with smart technology, and in April 2021 the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a notice on improving internet accessibility for the elderly, setting standards for website and app adaptations.

Many leading companies have already completed age‑friendly redesigns and shared experiences; age‑friendly design is a major trend. The author, involved in related redesign projects, shares insights based on experiences with several bank apps.

What Will Be Covered

1. Definition of age‑friendly design 2. Reasons for age‑friendly design 3. Characteristics and needs of elderly users

1. Definition of Age‑Friendly Design

According to Baidu Baike, age‑friendly design considers the physical abilities and movement characteristics of older people in residential, commercial, hospital, and school environments, including barrier‑free design and emergency systems to meet their living and travel needs.

In the internet era, applications also need to consider elderly users' characteristics and needs. Mobile internet brings convenience but also excludes many seniors, e.g., inability to use health codes, online transfers, or appointments, leading to social exclusion. Designers should reflect on how society can better serve them.

2. Barrier‑Free Design

Barrier‑free design often appears together with age‑friendly design but is broader, aiming for inclusive design for all users.

Universal design: Emphasizes that all systems and products should be usable by anyone regardless of age or ability.

Inclusive design: Good design should meet as many users' needs as possible.

For example, Apple’s system design considers movement, vision, hearing, and cognitive impairments, enabling these users to use Apple products easily.

Age‑friendly design can be seen as part of information accessibility; many techniques overlap.

3. User Groups

Population aging is a global phenomenon; China has a large, deep, fast‑aging population. Approximately 38% of the population is over 45, equating to 509 million people. As of Dec 2021, there were 119 million internet users aged 60+, with a 43.2% penetration rate.

The author expands the target group to include “silver‑hair” users aged 50+, noting that people in their early 50s already experience vision, comprehension, and usage difficulties and often request age‑friendly versions of apps.

QuestMobile data shows that in August 2022, silver‑hair monthly active users reached 297 million, a 12.5% YoY increase, with average usage time of 121.6 hours per month, outpacing overall growth.

Given the growing internet adoption among seniors and their strong consumption potential, especially in financial products, designing for them is essential.

Therefore, design must consider this large and growing user base to be more universal.

4. Humanistic Care

Elderly and other vulnerable groups experience declines in vision, hearing, touch, and cognition, and may fear new technologies, leading to frustration and abandonment. Complex online information and scams also cause insecurity; standards require safety, limiting ads and misleading buttons.

Designing for seniors improves safety and usability for everyone.

5. Not Only for Seniors

Age‑friendly design is a subset of barrier‑free design; many design solutions benefit all users.

Situational Limitations

Anyone can encounter temporary impairments in certain contexts, such as visual difficulty outdoors, hearing issues in noisy environments, motor challenges when holding objects, or cognitive overload with new features.

Visual: text unreadable on outdoor mobile banking.

Auditory: cannot hear voice prompts in noisy places.

Motor: accidental taps while handling items.

Cognitive: unfamiliar new banking features.

Thus, designing for seniors also serves the broader population.

6. Bank User Needs

Online banking apps have grown, but users aged 41+ only account for 12.8% of users. Older users show higher demand for insurance and riskier stock trading. Although current penetration is low, it is expected to rise as more seniors adopt internet finance.

Many seniors still lack understanding, confidence, and skills to use online banking, leading to pain points.

Case studies illustrate difficulties with card issuance, authentication, and online transfers, where seniors prefer in‑person assistance.

Designing for this demographic is crucial for banks.

7. Elderly User Characteristics and Needs

Needs are divided into physiological (poor vision, difficult operation, fear of errors, comprehension issues, hearing loss) and service needs (lack of knowledge, difficulty finding features, inability or unwillingness to use).

Visual Impairments

With age, visual sensitivity, contrast perception, spatial awareness, and color discrimination decline; 47.9% of those over 60 experience vision loss, mainly farsightedness. Common issues: small fonts, low‑contrast colors, difficulty distinguishing blue‑purple hues, weak dynamic perception.

Hearing Impairments

Hearing declines start around age 45 for men, later for women; prevalence of deafness increases with aging. Common issues: cannot hear, cannot understand, find speech too fast.

Motor Impairments

Motor speed and coordination decrease; larger fingers, reduced skin moisture, deeper wrinkles lower touch sensitivity, reducing gesture precision. Common issues: inability to perform complex gestures, accidental taps, difficulty clicking, inability to operate continuously.

Cognitive Impairments

Cognitive abilities decline, leading to slower reactions, poorer judgment, reduced learning ability, making new applications intimidating. Common issues: difficulty accepting new apps, distinguishing information authenticity, understanding icons/images, higher frustration, preference for familiar interfaces.

Conclusion

We have covered the definition of age‑friendly design, its importance, and the characteristics and needs of elderly users. How to start designing an age‑friendly online banking app? Stay tuned for the next article, which will analyze the “Mobile Internet Application (APP) Age‑Friendly General Design Specification” with case studies.