Finding convenient and accessible ways to manage bank accounts online.
Project Overview
BDO Personal Banking is the company's mobile app aimed at putting the banking experience at the palm of consumers' hands. While it serves its purpose now and then, the app falls short in delivering a memorable user experience because of its poor UI and unresponsive screens. This redesign concept aims to address these issues.
Problem Statement
As the largest bank in the Philippines, BDO prides itself on an enormous consumer base. A lot of people use it, but many are also frustrated by it. Why? Unresponsive screens, slow app speed and a dull interface, to name a few. As a result, customers don't bother handling their transactions online.
A new and improved personal banking app would eliminate critical pain points, allowing users to manage their accounts at the palm of their hands.
Key screens of the redesigned mobile app.
User Needs
Make it fast.
Majority of BDO account holders are working professionals. This, on top of human’s inherent impatience, cause them to leave the app immediately once it slows down. After all, if you can walk to the nearest ATM faster than how the app shows your current balance, why bother opening it in the first place?
Responsiveness ensures that using the app is worthwhile.
Simplicity is key.
Having multiple options causes users to second-guess the desired action.
Simplifying choices can be achieved by breaking down complex tasks into a step-by-step process. Doing so will pave the way for a more intuitive interface, ultimately making users to happily decide on things that would propel them to their goals.
Crush it, not crash it.
In the words of Felipe Laso Marsetti, the best and most bug-free code is the code that you don’t write.
A simple interface will compel developers to code only what is necessary, decreasing the number of complicated technical issues that may occur in the app. After all, developers are users, too — designing for them is as vital as with any other user.
Secure and usable.
Security is an inherent priority of every banking firm. People can’t always keep an eye out of their account. But when you have a useful app that allows them to check on their money safely and conveniently, it will be an intangible that they will never take for granted.
As such, users must feel that they are in a safe domain just by navigating through the app.
Project Goals
01.
Propose a more promising experience for the mobile app
02.
Make screens and fields more organized
03.
Help establish app reliability through a technically feasible interface
04.
Elevate brand credibility with a better visual identity
As a user myself, I listed down core needs and pain points that would serve as the foundation of my attempt to craft a feasible, intuitive, and usable interface. From sketching wireframes and compiling the brand's visual assets, I immediately went to high-fidelity designing to have a better idea of what the end experience would be.
A Utilitarian Design
The homepage was one of the first screens I designed to visualize the most critical features to which users will need direct access.
Unlike the existing homepage, this redesign now maximizes screen real estate to bring key pages in front of the user. A visual replica of the account holder's debit or credit card is the main feature of the homepage, with its sheer prominence designed to entice users to tap on it for the card's details.
— HOME
Refined banking experience
—SENDING MONEY
This new set of interface removes unnecessary content for a more focused experience. The reduced number of options allows for a faster fulfillment of users' desired actions. It also utilizes the power of microcopy to guide users in taking their desired course of action.
The quick summary section on screen #4 is a way to ensure that users have entered the correct details. Its design mimics the look of a physical receipt, with the embedded BDO logo adding a reassuring value.
Designed for that time of the month. The new Stories-inspired Favorites section is essentially a quick access to a user's billers or people or to whom they regularly send money. Tapping on a Favorite will instantly redirect them to type in the amount of money they want to pay (if the Favorite is a product or service) or send (if the Favorite is a person).
Access Favorites from Home
—QUICK ACCESS
—QUICK ACCESS
Easy contact from transactions screen
Safeguard your account against potentially malicious transactions. Notice something suspicious? Contact BDO support immediately.
—PAYING BILLS
Pay bills without the clutter
The Pay Bills section also makes use of a stark and straightforward interface similar to the screens shown on Send Money section. Fewer options, less distractions, yet a quicker way to achieve their goals.
Learnings
Some friction is necessary
When it comes to banking apps, slow loading speed is a primary cause of frustration, but super fast ones can become a source of anxiety. Users are always careful when it comes to managing their money, which is why the experience must keep on reassuring them that every action is secured by way of balanced, positive friction.
Never underestimate the power of copy
Effective UX writing dictates pleasant user journeys. CTAs, headlines, and guiding copy on every screen contribute to a more improved digital banking experience. All thanks to my professional background as a web copywriter, I was able to come up with helpful UX copy.
Say hello.
Got any project in mind? I'd love to hear about it.
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