With the growth in mobile app adoption, the business needed to focus on transactions and address two critical issues: customer purchases and deposits. Research and Data analysis found these to be significant factors contributing to customer confusion and increased costs for the business. Identifying areas for improvement led us to reimagine the flow of transactions on mobile. How do we improve the customer experience by making it easier to initiate transactions, deposit funds into the correct accounts, and purchase equities?
The current state of the mobile app's money movement and transaction flows poses significant challenges for customers. The need for clear instructions and rules is making it increasingly more difficult for users to move money between accounts or from external banks into their investment accounts. Moreover, the app's transaction process is overly complicated and time-consuming, with too many transaction flows, leaving customers needing more intuitive, easy-to-use features. As a result, users face multiple pain points in the mobile app transaction flow, leading to incomplete transactions.
Example of mobile app transact landing screen.
Further complicating the matter, customers need help navigating the mobile app's layout and design. Specifically, locating specific features, such as contributing to their IRAs, which are often hidden or located below the fold, is challenging. Additionally, there needs to be more clarity around the differences between a contribution and a deposit, confusing some app areas.
The primary goal is to improve the mobile app's user experience by providing clarity, ease of use, and accessibility to key features. Achieving parity between the web and mobile platforms is essential, as some features on the web are not easily accessible on mobile. Navigation and wayfinding issues also make some features challenging to use, depending on where a user is in the app. Therefore, the focus is on enhancing the mobile app's overall user experience to ensure seamless money movement and customer transaction flows.
Example of existing transaction page on website. Numbers identify areas of parity work between web and mobile.
The goal is to enhance the existing mobile transaction landing screen by addressing usability and findability issues while improving the customer experience.
We needed to consider how to improve the screen's layout to make it easier for users to find what they want. We also need to provide inline context around transacting actions. We aim to redesign the transaction landing screen into a centralized hub where customers can make and manage transactions, and access features and tasks related to their accounts, transaction types, and interactions, all from a single location.
To achieve this, we worked with research and data analytics to devise a customer-centric strategy. We used segmentation to group items with relevant content on the page. We defined distinct sections for Trade/Transact, Move Money, IRA Contribution, Account Activity, and Additional Options for features not specific to transactions. We also identified the most frequently requested yet hidden features and made them more accessible, such as mobile checks and interaccount transfers. We used iconography to visually identify each feature, making it easier and quicker for customers to find what they need and reducing cognitive load.
Our ultimate goal was to make the new process more intuitive and build systems that assist customers in making a choice. By doing so, the backend systems can intuitively understand customer selections and correctly guide them through the actions, reducing errors and lowering overall costs for the business.
Example of redesign transactions landing POC. Display two mental models, a single one-screen vs. a breakout across tabs into customer intents. Color shading indicates areas of greatest change or new features brought to the surface.
The new design of the Transact Landing screen has made it simpler for customers to complete their tasks. It has centralized all transaction-related features, including activity history, investment options, and links for easy navigation. By making these features more accessible, it aims to improve self-service capabilities and reduce customer care calls related to finding information.
The redesign allows customers to move money between like accounts on mobile, access mobile checks, and search for equity symbols to get real-time quotes with the option to buy/sell. It also makes searching for stocks by symbol or name easier, moving money from external accounts into investment accounts, and accessing transparent information about contributions and rollovers.
The new design has been well-received by customers, who appreciate its simplicity and clarity. They find it easier to navigate and complete their tasks. It also reduces customer care calls by providing self-serve options. The modular design allows adding or removing features to accommodate updates to backend functionality.
We've made significant strides in improving transaction completion by surfacing hidden features, streamlining navigation, and empowering customers with self-service options. From discovery definition to idea visualization + testing to building and a finished product to market, all in less than a year! With these advancements, customers have a more seamless and efficient experience.
Transact 2.0 + Journey Integration Account Awareness
Strategy, including Experience in Product Design, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, HCD Creative Direction, Product Visioning, Project Roadmap Planning
Role: UX Strategist, Specialist CXD Mobile responsible for aligning business objectives around transactions and customer journeys between mobile and web.
Timeline: April 2023 - October 2023
Division: CXD Mobile Journey Integration Lab, including Transact, Customer Journey, Cash Plus
Project: Transact 2.0