Building Trust Between a Bank and Its Clients
IN BRIEF After evaluating our client’s goals for their microsite, I redesigned their proposed flow for onboarding customers, informed by our key findings from interviews with prospective users. I worked with our client and the lead UX designer on this project.
KEY SKILLS Stakeholder Management, Idea Testing, UX Research, Wireframes, Prototyping
TIME 1 Month
The Problem
A local bank wanted to create a new service that would encourage their eligible clients to apply for personal loans by messaging them the application form directly.
The Challenge
Our team was tasked to design and test a user flow that would help this bank achieve its goals. As we started working on this project, we learned that we needed to rethink this financial institution’s online loan application process to ensure applicants feel their data is safe and secure.
Visualizing A Seamless Experience
After our client walked us through their goals and ideas for their new personal loan service, our team wondered:
Why did the grouping of required fields in the form seem so confusing?
What was the purpose of having a one-time-pin (OTP) at the start of the flow?
Would users be comfortable being notified of their eligibility via SMS?
What happens between the user submitting the personal loan application and the bank approving the application? Is there any back-end or internal processes we need to know for this flow?
We then worked together to clarify and synthesize their proposed user flow, to identify the possible gaps in the application process.
Through this discussion, we were also able to consider what their customers’ next steps and expectations could be after they submit their personal loan application.
Since we had all of the requirements an applicant would need, as well as a better understanding of what the bank would need to process their customer’s application, we were in a better position to design a process that was simple, understandable, and approachable.
To guide our designs, we zeroed in on the key phrases: Ease of Application, Hassle-Free Disbursement, and Flexible Terms.
Usability Test Findings
Before finalizing our proposed solution, however, we argued that we needed to further investigate our unanswered questions through moderated usability tests with a mid-fi prototype of our solution.
Through these usability tests, we uncovered our key insight: Users were concerned about their data privacy and security.
Even if all of the users found the microsite easy to use, they were uncomfortable submitting their personal information and bank details online. All of the users we tested with were:
Hesitant to click a link sent to them via SMS. It reminded them too much of phishing scams.
Hesitant to submit their digital signatures. They were worried that anyone would just be able to copy their real signature.
Skeptical of submitting a loan application online. If they really wanted a personal loan, they would much rather apply in person.
A New Problem Space
Given these findings, we knew that to encourage our users to use this service, we would need to create a more informative and safe digital experience for them to submit a personal loan application.
Our new guiding question then became: How might we create a safe environment, where users could feel encouraged to apply for a personal loan?
Ideating Solutions
After creating affinity maps, we thought of possible solutions to remedy the users' concerns. Some were as simple as changing the tone of our copy, others were as complex as adding an option to book an appointment.
Redesigning The Application Process
How might we get users to start applying? The usability tests confirmed our assumption that users would be hesitant to click on the link if sent via SMS.
Users felt more comfortable receiving such an official notification via email. With that said, it only made sense to change the start of this user journey. We also added a welcome page to the flow to prevent users from feeling unnerved by the sudden task of inputting sensitive information.
If the user plans to apply, they can either submit their application online or in person. Providing these two options may stray away from our client’s initial plan, but it assures that their customers are being cared for each step of the way.
How might we help users feel safe and secure? As we were designing this improved process, we made sure that our tone was more reassuring to help users feel safe as they fill out the form. We also included more disclaimers on how their data was going to be used.
How can we make it easier to fill out this form? While users understood how to use our expandable tab designs for the application form, users didn’t know what they were supposed to do on this screen.
In the old design, the question and the CTAs were far apart. In the new design, we removed the preview of the application to make the purpose of this screen clearer.
Outcomes
In the end, our client was very happy with our revised flow. We were able to pinpoint problems they hadn't considered, and together, we were able to design an experience that would make people more open to applying for a personal loan.
Through this project, I learned that clear communication with your team and your client is essential to delivering the best product possible. To extend this learning even further, the language and tone of your product’s copy can ultimately affect how users perceive and interact with the product. Your product needs to reflect your customers’ mental models. Otherwise, your customers may never even bother to use your product to begin with.
It’s common for us to trust our initial, untested ideas for success. With comprehensive research and active customer involvement, however, we are able to learn and pivot faster. These enable us to redirect our efforts to more promising avenues, conserving valuable time, energy, and resources for refining user experiences.