One of the projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on in AGENDA is the launch of the new Maybank2u.com, dubbed M2U 2.0.
M2U 2.0 homepage. You like? And works in Safari too!
These past couple of weeks I had been helping to organise an Exclusive Preview of the new site for selected bloggers. The Exclusive Preview took place this past Monday at Delicious @ Marc Residence in KL.
Despite running around like a headless chicken for most of the night–I was so busy!–I had lots of fun. I managed to finally meet a lot of bloggers and friends that I’ve gotten to know through their blogs and Twitter like LiewCF, David Lian and Erna.
Maybank is my company’s client, but I’m a Maybank2u user and so here’s my take on M2U 2.0.
M2U 2.0 also refers to the shift in Maybank’s approach to their internet banking business. The current site is a big mess and that’s the result of being business focused: the website team just threw up all the content the different divisions in Maybank told them to.
M2U 2.0 is all about being customer focused. Maybank is intent on putting its users squarely in the driver’s seat for their internet banking experience. This new approach guided the revamp of the site and will be the guiding principles for the site’s future strategy.
When I joined AGENDA I was extremely impressed that Maybank actually spent money to conduct usability testing. They invested in over 350+ hours to conduct usability tests with 125 people over a 3 month period. And all this before writing a single line of code or designing how the new site would look.
With the usability results in hand, Maybank2u.com was built from the ground up to
- Show the user the most relevant content, when they want it
- Be a standards-compliant website (XHTML, CSS and semantic code)
- Lay the foundation for a Web 2.0 style banking portal
I’ve built more than a few sites myself and the scope of M2U 2.0 truly boggles the mind. I have so much respect for my colleagues at AGENDA and the work they’ve put into the site.
And at the risk of sounding like a Maybank mouthpiece, I also have to give props to the people driving M2U 2.0 internally at Maybank. M2U 2.0 represents a big change for Maybank, and big changes in big companies don’t always go well. But from all the meetings I’ve endured been in and interaction with the team, I can see that the guys in e-Channels and Customer Experience get it. Of course, lots of respect to Maybank’s new CEO Datuk Wahid Omar for being forward-looking and getting behind this.
Despite all the baggage and problems that plague large companies like Maybank, I’m rooting for them. I’ve seen not only M2U 2.0, but I’ve also caught a glimpse of Maybank 2.0, and that picture is promising indeed.
Sep 10, 2008 @ 23:23:29
Hey Dave,
a shoutout to you mate! Fantastic blog here….a true fix for techno junkies ( of which I’m not one of)….but I still enjoy your blog. Succumbing to its lure once more…..keep it up
Sep 11, 2008 @ 00:57:16
I’ve been an M2U user since day one (yes, that’s version 0.1!) and I use it for everything from online transfer to bill payment to yada yada.
M2U was pretty much the only choice when online banking first appeared and it has certainly dominated the market thus far through sheer monopoly of vendors, agencies, associations, etc.
The interface and user experience currently isn’t the most sophisticated nor the most attractive, though.
Although other banks have improved tremendously (esp. HSBC), I believe M2U still has a dominating position.
I think this is a great step forward. Looking forward to the update.
Sep 12, 2008 @ 21:52:59
hey dave, d’u have any idea when it’ll be up?
Sep 13, 2008 @ 11:12:44
hi li-ann, at the moment its still a sekret..
Oct 18, 2008 @ 19:14:54
Hi David, After perusing some of the other blogs I understand there are some problems with the M2U v2. I would be interested to know whether this was pushed out not fully tested. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you via my email.
Oct 20, 2008 @ 13:00:09
it’s really sad that the site is performance is worst that the previous one. Web 2.0 is supposed to enhance user experience and spare the user from the page loading hassle. But this is not the case of the new m2u 2.0 site. And pls do something with the logic on the alert thing you get after 30 secs of no user action. You get prompted to logout or to stay on the site. It’s funny that you are prompted that while you are waiting ajax to do its “miracle” in the background.
If you don’t mind, what is the Agenda company website?
Oct 21, 2008 @ 15:40:01
duke, AGENDA’s website is http://www.agenda-asia.com. why do you ask?
i can’t speak as a spokesperson for Maybank (because of banking rules and legal reasons) or my company, but AGENDA definitely did not touch M2U’s back end.
what AGENDA did, as you can glean from my post above, is usability study, design (front end stuff) and organising the preview event.
Nov 11, 2012 @ 23:19:26
=Hello there!
It looks as though we both have a interest for the
same thing. Your blog, “Maybank puts its users squarely in the driver’s seat with M2U 2.0″ and mine are very similar.
Have you ever considered authoring a guest write-up for a
related blog? It will unquestionably help gain publicity
to your blog (my site receives a lot of traffic). If you are interested, contact me.
Many thanks