Creating Better User Experiences with Precise Location for Digital Banking
Precise location data can help banks make transactions easier to understand and more useful. By enriching payment data with accurate merchant locations, banks can create clearer, more contextual digital banking experiences.
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Precise location data can help banks add meaningful context to everyday transactions. By connecting payments with accurate merchant locations, financial institutions can make spending information easier to recognise and more actionable for customers within their banking apps.
Customers expect their banking experience to keep pace with the way they pay. They want to see what they have paid for, recognise the businesses behind their transactions and access useful information without having to contact customer service. However, transaction records do not always provide enough context: a payment descriptor may contain an abbreviated merchant name, a payment processor reference or a location code that means little to the customer. Even when the transaction is correct, the information can be difficult to understand.
Precise location, combined with accurate transaction enrichment, helps solve this problem by turning raw payment data into clear, recognisable information.
What is precise location data in digital banking?
Precise location data refers to the geographical information associated with a place or transaction. In digital banking, this typically means identifying the physical location of a merchant where a card payment was made.
For example, a bank statement might show a transaction as SQ *COFFEE G13. A customer may recognise the amount, but the descriptor alone may not tell them which business they visited.
With transaction enrichment, the same payment could be displayed with the merchant's recognised trading name, logo, address and location on a map.
This is the difference between recording a payment and helping a customer understand it.
Transaction enrichment combines the original payment information with external merchant reference data to improve the quality and usability of transaction records. Depending on the implementation, enriched information can include merchant names, logos, categories, locations, contact details and other relevant attributes.
Why precise location matters for digital banking
The quality of a digital banking experience depends on more than how quickly a payment is processed. Customers also need to understand the transactions appearing in their accounts.
When a transaction is unclear, the customer may have to search for the merchant, check receipts or contact the bank. This creates friction at a point where the banking experience should be simple.
Precise location can help banks address several of these challenges.
Making transactions easier to recognise
A recognisable merchant name and an accurate location provide useful context for customers. When the transaction is displayed alongside a map or address, it becomes easier to identify where a purchase took place.
This is particularly useful for everyday purchases, where the merchant descriptor may differ from the brand name that customers know. It is also valuable when the same brand operates across multiple merchant locations, helping customers quickly identify which branch or store they visited.
Supporting customer confidence
Customers expect their bank to provide accurate information about their money. Clear transaction details help them understand their spending and feel more confident when using digital banking services.
Location does not guarantee that a transaction is legitimate, but it can provide an additional signal that helps customers recognise familiar payments and identify transactions that need further investigation.
Reducing unnecessary customer service enquiries
When customers cannot identify a transaction, they may contact their bank for clarification. Providing clearer information within the banking app can help resolve some of these questions before they become support enquiries.
A clear example is Nationwide Building Society, which enriched its transaction information to make payments easier to understand in its mobile banking app. The bank reported a 30% reduction in transaction-related calls to its customer service team.
How banks can use precise location data
Location-based services can support several digital banking use cases. The most useful applications depend on the bank's customer needs, the quality of its transaction data and the services it wants to provide.
1. Helping customers understand where they spend money
The most direct application is to display the physical location of a purchase.
When a customer opens a transaction in a banking app, they can see the merchant's name, address and position on a map. This helps them identify the purchase and understand their spending more clearly.
For example, a payment made during a weekend trip may be easier to recognise when the customer can see the exact location of the business.
2. Supporting international transactions and travel
International spending can create additional confusion because customers may not recognise local merchant names or understand unfamiliar payment descriptors.
Precise location can help customers identify purchases made abroad and provide more context about where the transaction occurred.
Banks can also use location information as part of broader travel-related services, such as displaying nearby ATMs, providing exchange rate information or helping customers find relevant services in a particular area.
The purpose is not to overwhelm customers with information, but to make the details they need easier to access.
3. Improving transaction disputes and fraud investigations
Location data can support the process of identifying transactions that customers do not recognise.
For example, a bank may compare the location of a transaction with other available information, such as the customer's usual spending patterns or device signals. This can help identify unusual activity and support further investigation.
However, location should be treated as one input among several. It cannot determine on its own whether a transaction is fraudulent, and a customer may legitimately make purchases in unfamiliar places.
The value comes from combining accurate transaction information with other relevant signals.
4. Creating more relevant banking services
Location can also contribute to broader customer experiences.
When combined with transaction categories, merchant information and other financial data, it can help banks understand the context of customer activity.
For example, a bank may identify that a customer regularly spends money in a particular area and use that information to provide more relevant local services or spending insights.
These applications should be based on appropriate customer permissions, data protection requirements and a clear understanding of how the information benefits the customer.
From transaction clarity to contextual banking
Precise location is one part of a broader shift towards more contextual digital banking experiences.
Transaction enrichment provides the foundation by transforming raw payment records into structured, recognisable information. This includes merchant names, logos, categories and locations.
Once the data is accurate and consistent, banks can use it to provide more useful information and services.
For example, a customer may see a transaction at a supermarket and understand exactly where the purchase was made. The bank can then use that information, together with other relevant data, to support spending insights or provide a more useful financial experience.
The distinction is important. Transaction enrichment helps customers understand what happened. Contextual banking uses that clearer information to help them understand what it means.
How banks can implement precise location services
Banks and fintechs do not need to build every part of a transaction enrichment service themselves.
A transaction enrichment API can receive raw transaction information and return additional merchant details, including location data, that can then be displayed in a banking app.
The process typically involves matching the original transaction descriptor to the correct merchant, identifying the relevant location and returning the available information in a consistent format.
The quality of the result depends on several factors, including merchant matching accuracy, geographic coverage, data freshness and the ability to distinguish between different branches of the same business.
For example, recognising a transaction as belonging to a particular coffee shop brand is not enough if the customer needs to know which branch they visited.
When evaluating a transaction enrichment API, banks should consider how accurately the provider can identify merchants and their physical locations, particularly across the markets where their customers spend money.
From Location Data to Better Banking Experiences
Precise location data can help banks create clearer and more intuitive digital banking experiences.
By connecting transactions with accurate merchant locations, financial institutions can help customers recognise purchases, understand their spending and access more useful information within their banking apps.
Location also provides a foundation for broader services, including travel-related experiences, spending insights and contextual banking.
The key is to ensure that the data is accurate, relevant and presented in a way that supports the customer.
For banks and fintechs looking to improve their transaction experience, transaction enrichment APIs provide a practical way to add precise location and merchant information without building the entire infrastructure in-house.
FAQs about precise location in digital banking
How can I show the location of a card transaction on a map?
To show the location of a card transaction on a map, the bank needs to associate the transaction with the correct merchant and its physical location.
A transaction enrichment API can provide this information, which can then be displayed in the transaction details screen of a banking app.
The accuracy of the map depends on the quality of the merchant matching and location data.
Which transaction enrichment provider has Google Maps integration?
Some transaction enrichment providers use Google Maps Platform to support merchant identification and location enrichment.
Snowdrop's MRS API uses Google Maps Platform data to enrich transactions with merchant information, including locations, addresses and other relevant details.
When comparing providers, banks should evaluate not only whether a provider uses a particular mapping platform, but also the accuracy of the merchant matching, the quality of the location data and the coverage available in their markets.
What is the difference between precise location and transaction geolocation?
Precise location refers to the geographical information associated with a place or transaction.
Transaction geolocation is the process of linking a financial transaction to a specific geographical location, such as the merchant's address or position on a map.
In digital banking, both concepts are closely connected because accurate transaction geolocation allows banks to provide precise location data to customers.
Does precise location data help reduce customer service costs?
It can. When customers can easily identify a transaction and understand where a purchase was made, they may have fewer reasons to contact customer service about unclear payments.
The impact depends on the quality of the transaction data, the accuracy of the merchant location and how the information is presented in the banking app.
