Credit Suisse grabs $1 billion in assets with new mobile app

Credit Suisse Group’s push to reach the next generation of wealth management clients may finally be paying off. 

The Switzerland-based private bank designed its latest mobile app, dubbed CSX, to address all financial services needs in a single smartphone app, and it has tacked on 100,000 new clients and $1 billion in assets since the app's launch just a year ago.  

While it was originally billed as a banking app in October 2020, CSX has already been expanded to include a financial planning platform, investment accounts, human advice, and products to help manage mortgages and pensions. 

The private bank said late last week that it has seen the number of downloads of its online banking app triple, while account openings in Switzerland have doubled. More than half of its new users are under the age of 34, according to the bank. 

“CSX is a future-oriented solution that addresses their needs and makes a relevant contribution to the development of digital banking in Switzerland,” Anke Bridge Haux, head of digital banking at Credit Suisse, said in a statement.

The pandemic has led to an explosion in new users for wealth management mobile apps. Hours spent on finance apps is up 90% year over year, while downloads of online apps jumped 20%, according to Bloomberg. Still, wealth management apps get poor scores for client satisfaction, according to a recent survey by J.D. Power.

For CSX, the next few months should bring further expansions into new financial services areas, including credit card offers, rental deposits and a tool for buying and selling properties.

“We have only just begun and will be expanding our offering on an ongoing basis,” Haux said. “This encouraging picture one year after the launch is therefore all the more pleasing.”