
Client Project | 3 Weeks | Scrum Master | UX Designer
It is nearly impossible for international users to get credit cards in the US. Without one they can't build credit history, and often cant rent accommodation. A vast demographic is being excluded and overlooked.
We were approached by the Fin-tech disruptor Sable Bank, who provide credit cards to US immigrants, to build their onboarding and application process, so that they might stand out in a competitive market.


RESULT & DELIVERABLES
Our on boarding and sign-up solution was highly commended by the stakeholders at Sable, who applauded our work for balancing the business goals with the divergent needs of the consumer. They praised our innovations and as such presented our designs to Y Combinator, ranked by Forbes & Fast Company at No.1, “the world’s most powerful start-up incubator”.
The App store hosted beta has been launched with a full product launch expected in early 2020.
- Competitive & Comparative Research
- User Interview Documentation
- User Persona, Flows & Journey
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- Low Fidelity Wireframes
- High Fidelity Apple Native Prototype
- Usability Testing Report​
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The project had unique complications, such as how we might build the start up’s credibility enough to convince fresh consumers to bank with them, and give a substantial deposit, before receiving their card.
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We had to minimize the drop-off rate within sign up while securing over 14 bits of highly sensitive information from every user; from a photo of their passport, to their phone number & passcode.
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For many of these users, English was not even their first language. Furthermore our research highlighted that immigrants were less inclined to trust financial institutions than permanent residents.
CHALLENGEs
RESEARCH




Competitor Heuristic Analysis
Some competitors really stood out! We completed their on boarding, and conducted
a full heuristic analysis of every step, to establish a minimum, and how others innovated.

Interviews
After a couple of awkward interviews, we realised strangers don't love talking about their finances. Our questioning would have to ease them in. We discovered user's extreme caution with their information on new apps too.
Competitors Analysis
We created a matrix with the 3 closest competitors, and 5 young fresh innovators, plotting where Sable should sit in such a competitive space.
Screener Survey
With a survey, we refined our user pool. We wanted to interview non native English speakers with over 1 year in the US. Intriguingly several still had no US bank accounts!
“How was your experience moving here?”
“How about moving your finances?”
“Did you have any guidance setting that up?”



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Competitors Plotted
142
Pages Analysed
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Surveys Submitted

Prototype Testing
Our challenge required new research methods. We took screenshots of the on boarding of our favourite competitor Starling, made them an interactive prototype & ran usability tests on it.
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Competitor Usability Tests Run​



User Persona
Meet Adja Yilmaz. She is a Turkish student working for her MA in the US. This app was built for her!

Synthesis
Compiling all data and research, we drew actionable insights and it became clear we could answer them with unique propositions.
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Key Actionable Insights
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Users Interviewed

Card Sort
One needs a lot of private info to set up a bank account, so what groupings and order are users most comfortable with? Could we condense it?
Setup Account Security Before Information Input

User Journey
Plotting our users concerns and pain points we discovered Sable could be unique. You can apply quickly online, and everyone's eligible.
We Have Our
USP

INSIGHTS & RESULTS
Below are a selection of our key actionable insights, and how we responded to them.
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Users place primary importance on security & credibility.
Deploying recognised brand marks such as Sable partners, Mastercard & the FDIC, with clear and concise list of securities, and a link to public reviews.
Alongside advanced security techniques, and iOS standard ones, we made sure users could find how and why their sensitive info was required.


More innovative security technologies are considered more trustworthy.
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Sable required a photograph of the users passport anyway, so we married business and user goals to create a time saving and security enhancing feature.
We made use of existing APIs such as Vision AI which can read documents from photographs, and recognise the information on them.


We also prepared users for the documents they would need, as pausing sign up is the main reason for drop off.

On the first onboarding screen we made it clear that anyone's eligible, the USP of the Sable Credit Card.

Users need to know their eligibility, and the documentation required, at the start of the process.
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We adopted a conversational tone with all copy, and in case of confusion added a chat bot feature, which would first open FAQs, and then contact with Sable.
English was not our user's first language. Any financial concepts are concisely and simply explained, with links to learn more at every stage.

Users want to experience a human connection, not bank jargon.
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Shorter is better. Users want a short sign up process, with short text blocks and feedback on their progress.

We gave fast track options, and reduced the total process to 10 steps, plus on-boarding, while securing 16 pieces of information, one by one (see no.2).
We made text as concise as possible and used a percentage progress bar. The full sign up process takes 2-3 minutes in total.
FAILURES & NEXT STEPS
With international users, simple and personable English may not necessarily be enough. A tool for multiple languages needs to be built when possible.
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Users indicated they trusted the service, but would have liked greater credibility. A referral system for friends and easier access to user reviews and opinions would rectify this.
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Users still found the triple capacity of the account (debit, credit, savings) to be obscure. Definitions and terminology vary internationally, so an effort should be made to consolidate and clarify this.
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The deposit method was an issue that users drew our attention to. In different cultures, there are different money managing norms and levels of accessibility. Our deposit system should consider the variety, not just Paypal & IBAN.
Users liked the chat feature, but found it irritating and misleading that this routed first to FAQs. This is a decision we left with the stakeholder.