THE NEW AGE OF BANKING

It seems that the modern age of banking has evolved from
something that felt outdated to something that
is overly complex. It certainly is interesting how the landscape of
digital banking is changing. With a plethora of financial
technology companies rising from the ashes of legacy systems and
​interfaces, I welcome you to the New Age of Banking.

THE CHALLENGE

The goal for the project was to create a process that allowed users to pay their bills 
and monitor their financial status in one place. All with an interface that was easy to the eyes 
and did not confuse the user. 
                                                         The high level objectives were to:​​
  1. Make it fast and easy to access and link bank accounts.
  2. Make Bill Management a seamless process.
  3. Create a Budget monitoring system.              

DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE

                                                               The approach to this project was one that was a challenging and comprehensive.
                                                               There were a lot of assumptions that had to be made. With the problem and the
                                                                       solution for this particular project being complex, a solution that relied on these
                                                                       ​assumptions were implied.
​                                                                                Assumption #1
​                                                                                Banks have open APIs to allow third party applications to access user data.
​
​                                                                                Assumption #2
​                                                                                ​Vendors will allow for direct access to payment forms.

SPRINT PLAN

​                                                                            ​This venture was particularly interesting as our timeline was less than ideal for such a
​                                                                            ​​comprehensive application. For the sake of creating an MVP - the task became even more
​                                                                            ​challenging - and fun!

​                                                                            ​Here is the proposed Sprint Plan:

KICKOFF

EARLY INSIGHTS FROM THE FIELD

The plan early on was to uncover what the current landscape was in terms of online banking. My objective to get a good sample size on order to get a read on the prevalence of mobile banking. I wanted to collect opinions on how often people will use their mobile or online banking instead of stepping foot in-branch. 

Important to note:
There were a total of 50 users surveyed. Varying ages from 23-57. All of the interviewees would say they are tech savvy and owned at least 2 devices (smart phone and computer/tablet).
It was interesting to see that 66% of users have and use banking apps on their phones. This was something that came as a surprise to me - I thought this number would be at least 10 points higher. There is some opportunity there for mobile banking. Why are 34% of users not using mobile banking and why are 6% not taking advantage of mobile banking?
Another interesting statistic was that 12% of users still go to the branch to do their day to day banking. For the sake of this info-graph, day to day banking involves transactions through Debit/Credit,  Paying Bills and Mobile/Online Offerings. This statistic excludes users that deposits cheques and have in-person meetings with financial advisors for mortgage consultations and other offerings. 
The mobile users were asked to rate their experience with their current banking app from a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being a perfect experience).
The data suggests that there is still room for improvement in mobile banking. 
For those that wanted to disclose their main bank, this info-graph was based off of experiences in the listed banks (mobile): TD (38%), RBC (24%), Scotiabank (14%), CIBC (12%), BMO (6%), Tangerine (6%).
I also wanted to see how people were managing their finances - and how many users believe they are financially literate. It will also be important to get an idea of how users navigate through their day to day banking. 
It was apparent that there were a few segments within the banking process that was essential to the day to day banking for the user. These were the core aspects in the user journeys. The three pillars that were particularly important were: Organizing Incoming Cashflow, Outgoing Cashflow and Financial Management.
Of the 50 Interviewed, it was unanimous that there were some sort of financial competency when it comes to saving. However, there was also a desire to learn more about investments and ways to maximize the earning potential of a user's current capital. 

DEEPER INSIGHTS

So we know that there is going to be room for improvement in terms of legacy banking apps, and that there is opportunity market share to be had in switching users over to mobile banking. Where do we start? What were the issues that users were raising to have a better mobile banking experience? 

DISCOVERY

THE REAL PROBLEM

Based on the initial research that was conducted, it was apparent that there is a want for a more 
comprehensive mobile banking app. One that is secure and acts as a hub for bill management
and budgeting. Users feel that there is no hub that will allow for an interactive tool
​that will allow them to monitor the 3 segments of day to day banking process.
"I'm honestly just worried about my credit..."
​-Lucas
"Sometimes I miss payments because there are too many things to keep track of..."
​-Julia
"I barely know what I spent on in the past two years!"
-Shehraz
"...I wish there was a button that allowed me to pay everything off..."
-V
"Banking apps are kinda overwhelming"
-Angelica
"I could not tell you what I spend on exactly, I know I spend a lot on food!"
​-Faris

THE DESIGN

USER PERSONAS

I decided to break the user data into two profiles. The solution evolved into something that reached a broader 
range of ages. Initially planning to cater closer to a younger age range, it was worth noting that 
the challenges that Landon's profile was facing were similar to Neela's.

INTRODUCING ARCHITECTURE

Through many iterations, developing an architecture that made it easy for the user to navigate the app was essential. The app will have 4 main pages that include the:
1. Home Page
2. My Budget
3. Transaction History
​4. Profile Page

SIMPLIFIED USER FLOWS

Onboarding Flow
When it comes to flow design, user onboarding is the process of leading a person through a number of tasks which, once complete, has effectively demonstrated the value of your product to them. In the case of Pointbanc (and financial apps in general), security is the number one priority in ensuring that conversion optimization and retention is at the highest level. Certainly the number of interactions and pages the user has to complete will determine the abandon rate during the Onboarding Flow. This is something that should be managed accordingly alongside the need for security/verification steps.
Bill Management Flow
The Bill Management Flow allows the user to manage a variety of bills. The idea is to consolidate all of the expenses to enable the Pointbanc’s AI to effectively assess the user’s financial strength. The ease of flow through efficient interactions is what will have the user create a habit of monitoring bills. From the Log in Page, there are 3 interactions in total to successfully add a bill.

LOW FIDELITY

For the purpose of cleanliness, I have chosen to show 12 essential pages of the 22 pages to showcase the early stages of the wire framing process.
Personally I prefer working off of sketch to build my low fidelity drafts and printing them out.
Drawing in my sketchbook also works, but I prefer everything to be on the computer documented for the related parties to
​be able to conveniently collaborate and make comments or edit as they think necessary to.

HIGH FIDELITY

5.0 Welcome Page -
​Notes:
  1. Login button: Direct to Login page. Priority to log in is essential for retention. Creating distinction with button difference is a strategy to influence the user to a specific call of action. In this case - it is to be able to have access to their account easily.
  2. Sign up button: Direct to Sign up page. There was some testing done with this particular project and there was an emphasis on retention vs conversion. For the purposes of this specific brief, we have prioritized login and retention. 
8.0 Sign Up - 
​Notes:
  1. Email Input: Fill to associate email with account.
  2. Password Input: For security reasons will have inactive, fail and success states.
  3. Sign up Button: To initiate email confirmation for account creation.
  4. Terms & Conditions Button: Directs user to Terms & Conditions Legal Page.
1.0 Home Page - 
​Notes:
  1. Profile Page Button: Direct to Profile/Account Page
  2. Account Balance Button: Allow user to see account balance for all bank accounts
  3. Pay Bill Button: Allow user to Pay Bill
  4. Add Bill Button:Directs user to Add Bill Page
  5. Budget Navigation
  6. Bill Management Navigation
  7. Transaction History Navigation
2.0 My Budget -
​Notes:
  1. Profile Page Button: Direct to Profile/Account Page
  2. Category Button: Tap Category for details
  3. Budget Navigation
  4. Bill Management Navigation
  5. Transaction History Navigation
2.1 Category: Food - 
​Notes:
  1. Profile Page Button: Direct to Profile/Account Page
  2. Category Carousel
  3. Question Mark(Spending): Spending Calculation
  4. Learn more Button: See in detail your spending compared to provincial average.
  5. Scroll Interaction to see history
  6. Budget Navigation
  7. Bill Management Navigation
  8. Transaction History Navigation
3.0 Transaction History - 
​Notes:
  1. Profile Page Button: Direct to Profile/Account Page
  2. Account Balance Button: Allow user to see account balance for all bank accounts
  3. Analytics Filter: Options for week overview to year
  4. Filter Button: by date/category/payee
  5. Scroll Interaction to see history
  6. Budget Navigation
  7. Bill Management Nav
  8. Transaction History Navigation

​RETROSPECTIVE

THE GOOD

Throughout the 2 weeks of intensive research about the finance and banking industry, an influx of super complicated information about the banking industry can lead us to an even more confused state -- and suddenly we can see why there is an abundance of financial technology initiatives. From the big banking companies like TD, RBC, Scotiabank and BMO to the likes of up and comers like Wealthsimple, Acorns and Mint(to some extent) we can see that there is much more that technology can offer this ever so complicated industry. 

Some things that I thought went particularly well during this endeavour were two major things: Research and Wireframing.

Research
If it weren't apparent enough, everybody can relate to the 'money' topic. I found that people who were interested in the topic were able to provide more data on top of the original set of interview questions I had prepared. This allowed me to expand the vastness of this topic and led me to ask relevant questions. There were a lot of touch points that I had never thought of that people really had an issue with. It was interesting to see the interviewees come out of their shell once they had felt comfort that most of the interviewees have the same stance as they do -- with regards to finances. With finance being an incredibly sensitive and intimate topic, it was refreshing to see these interviewees think critically about their financial practices and how aware they truly are. It was like a realization point for them that I had helped foster. After that, I felt that I was able to ask relevant questions and really point out the pain points - which was incredibly beneficial to the development of the solution. 

Wireframing
Wireframing and building the initial interactions opened a lot of things for the potential user in my mind. After having conversations with dozens of mobile banking users, I was more vested than I had thought. I wanted to contribute to this evolving industry and see if I can offer something(even if it was one eyebrow raised) that will address how broken and 'needing of improvement' the industry is. I felt with the time constraints, I was able to create a simple enough interaction that the user is able to accomplish whatever they needed to. Certainly, future releases and features is something that is inevitable with this application.

POINTS OF IMPROVEMENT

Some things that I had considered throughout the progress of Pointbanc as far as future features:
​
  • Apple Pay Compatibility
  • Smarter AI
  • Cash/Miscellaneous expenses (overcome manual input)
  • Credit Check
  • Tax Capabilities
 
As for things that I believe are improvement points for this project were:

  • ​Complicated Platform - An endeavour such as this will surely need more than 2 weeks to be a viable application. I wish to learn more about the complications and the nuisances that this industry harbours  
  • Security - As I am not a security specialist by any means, it would be very valuable to learn more about how security applies to banking and how it is evolving. Certainly, with the advancements of technology in the industry, the more vulnerability for breaches and releases of information. 
  • Technical Constraints - Throughout the project, I would collaborate with developers to see if there any technical constraints when it comes to developing Pointbanc. It is important to always ensure that the design matches with reality. However, since this application was built on two assumptions that put the developers in a tough position, it was difficult to get realist feedback on restrictions in developing the platform,
  • Time Management - To the best of my ability I had attempted to be as disciplined based on my sprint plan. I did not anticipate the time expense during the early stages. I had tackled a beast that was bigger than 2 weeks worth of time. Future considerations on how I can better allocate my time is something that I know will benefit my future projects.

IMPORTANT LESSONS

Learning is an ongoing thing in the world of UX. With this project, it was especially so that I had learned to refine my process and my research. Some key things that UX designers should take to heart:

  • Always go back to the User & their needs - At the end of the day, if you are not collecting accurate data from the user, you are not able to discover the source of the problem you are trying to solve. It is important to peel for newer levels of learning to build effectively for the user. Always looking to develop a question base to ask your users and making sure that they are top priority is essential for design.
  • Emphasize research and let that lead the way - Similar to the note above(as if I could not emphasize it enough), the design must be built off of research that is collected from the user. There were times were I wanted to design and build specific interactions based on what I wanted to do. Going back to the research and what it says will always lead you to the best solution. I always saw UX design to be two halves - 1. The consolidation of information from the users 2. The application of information from the users
  • Collaborate with developers to identify constraints - As designers, it is very easy to be too ambitious and add a million unnecessary features. Having a good relationship and process with your developers are very important in designing for a solution. I find if you are able to collaborate positively with your developers, you are able to streamline your design process and develop a viable MVP

Thank you for learning with me! 

Let me know if you've got some insights and comments on the
​Banking Industry and the UX Process! I would love to hear it!

hello@jpguiao.com

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