Helping users start their savings journey

A leading UK retail bank wanted to create a greenfield digital bank that could compete with the growing popularity of the likes of Monzo and Revolut. To differentiate themselves, the app was to be targeted towards those who struggled to save each month, giving them the resources to start their savings journey.

As part of a design team that included brand designers, UX designers and UI designers, I spent a year helping to build the bank, and led the design on a number of sections of the app, including the home screen and onboarding. I also led the creation of the central mechanism that helped users save week by week, developing a conceptual model as well as making key product strategy decisions. The designs were validated through behavioural change research and user interviews generated during the discovery period, as well as regular tests with users during the build phase.

Result

After rounds of testing and iteration, users responded well to the central saving metaphor and were able to intuitively use it to put away extra money each week. The simple interface combined with familiar patterns meant that users could pick up the app and intuitively understand how it worked. The project grew from 30 to 120 team members in the time I was on it, and a beta version of the bank was released to the users 12 months after the initial discovery period. After further iteration, the app was successfully launched on the App Store after 8 months of beta testing.

For more information about this project, contact me!