After buying Airtime using the FirstMobile app by First Bank, it asked me to share my experience on Facebook and Twitter. So, I decided to do so here.

FirstMobile is the official mobile banking app for First Bank account holders. I installed the app from the Google Play Store late last year. The registration process was slightly confusing because I didn’t know what “mPin” was. So I took a leap of faith and settled for a familiar sting of 5 numbers. As it turns out, I’ve had to use these numbers to log in to the app every time I need to use it.

The user interface and the overall theme is clean, classy even with none of those annoying ads. The menu is simple and very fluid in terms of app navigation. Its step-by-step design makes transactions easy to follow through. This app boasts a wide range of services including flight bookings. However, this review will only focus on the services I have used.

My favourite services are:

My Account: This provides you with a clutter-free overview of your account. First, you are greeted with your cash balance so you know you exactly what your “status” is. Then, if you’d like to know the details of your current financial standing, it’s just one click away. There you’ll find a crisp list of all your debit and credit transactions listed chronologically with the most recent transactions at the top. Debits in red, credits in Black. All very distinct.

Funds Transfer: It’s never been easier to transfer fund particularly because it’s at your fingertips literally. Transactions less than N50,000 require you to use a PIN. I’m not sure if it’s the same as the ATM Pin, but I used it and it worked. The really cool things about this service are the:

Saved Beneficiaries

This feature allows you to save account numbers of different people you make regular financial transactions with. I use this for family members and friends, and business partners. It saves me a lot of time. Most transfers can be completed in less than 2 minutes depending on the internet connection. If a transaction is greater than N50,000, you’ll need your token to generate the code. Transaction time: 4 minutes tops.

Airtime TopUp

My absolute favourite service. This app works for four networks Glo, MTN, Etisalat and Airtel. I love this service for three main reasons. First, it’s available 24/7. Next, my phone is credited immediately after the transaction is completed, and finally, I don’t have to scratch 5 cards and then meticulously key them in individually, while double-checking and praying that I don’t miss a single digit.

Notifications: The app comes with an “inbox” where you get messages on new bank regulations and security warnings.

Pros
Cost Saving: I had my SMS notifications deactivated. “Country don hard”. I really don’t need to accumulate SMS Charges since I have email notifications and this app.

Secure: For transfer of really large sums, First Contact will call you to confirm the transaction. (I love FirstContact. They are always very helpful but that’s for another review)

Reliable: In the past 4 months, I’ve had only 1 occasion where I conducted a transaction and it didn’t go through but my money was debited. Luckily, it was only N500 Airtime. I called FirstContact and they assured me that it would be resolved in 3 to 5 days.
Free: Need I say more?

Cons
New User Registration: A detailed walk-through registration process enlightening the new user on what exactly is going on would be so much more helpful.

Only One Account: It would be nice to be able to have more than one account on the app, perhaps savings and current account. Right now, that doesn’t seem possible on the app.

No Debit or Credit Transaction Notification: You have to check your statement of account over and over to know when a transaction has been made. In my opinion, the “inbox” could be used to accommodate this need.

Large sums require token: It’s a well-meant security measure, but I find this is slightly inconveniencing especially for sums less than N100,000.

No email receipt: I like receipts after banking transactions. The FirstBank Web Portal provides you with the option to email yourself a receipt. It’s an easy way to provide evidence of a transaction to a 3rd party.

Bugs There are still a few bugs with this app especially when I try to make large sum transactions. Even when the amount is less than N50,000 it demands the use of my token which is quite annoying. Other times It states “duplicate transactions” when I haven’t made any transaction at all.

Internet Connection: Without an internet connection, you can’t log in to the app.  You can’t even see your cash balance as at your last login, pending when the connection is available. In short, without the internet, this app is completely inaccessible.

Conclusion
Summarily, this is a great app and I recommend it. However, I think, with a few adjustments, it could be better.

Obviously, this is not a paid review. I mean, I’m no Linda Ikeji. I love First Bank. My very first bank account was at First Bank Gwagwalada and I worked with First Bank in Lagos. So yeah, I have a soft spot for “my elephant” and it’s the reason I’ve written this review.

I haven’t tried any other banking app so I can’t compare it’s performance against others. I haven’t used this app on other mobile OS like Apple or Windows either. So If you’ve used other Nigerian Banking apps along with this, or used this one on other mobile platforms, please share your experience below.

As always, thank you for reading!

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Post Update: FirstBank returned my N500 in 3 days. 🙂