User Experience Design for Financial Services

Imagine this: You're trying to find a charge from last month's takeout, or a hotel stay from your weekend getaway, but it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack. This confusion often arises because transaction names are unclear and don't match the merchant, making it hard to identify the charges. Transaction flows are essential for maintaining the integrity and reliability of financial services, as they manage the movement of funds and data across various platforms and channels. When transaction names are unclear, it complicates the process and leaves users frustrated. Here’s How We’re Making This Experience Better for Customers: • Customer-Centric Features: With the Chase Mobile® app, you can effortlessly switch between accounts, search transactions across multiple accounts, and see enriched details with merchant logos—all at your fingertips. Managing your finances is now as intuitive as scrolling through your favorite app. • Behind the Scenes Innovation: Over the past two years, our technology teams have managed an impressive 75 billion transactions. By modernizing the systems that handle and display these transactions, we ensure that retrieving transactions for specific merchants across millions of accounts takes less than 100 milliseconds, delivering a seamless user experience. • Lightning-Fast Access: With real-time streaming and local caching, we’ve turbocharged transaction retrieval, allowing you to access your data in the blink of an eye. • Smart Network Design: By strategically placing services and network components, we’ve slashed latency, delivering a performance boost that keeps our systems running smoothly and our users delighted. • Unified Innovation: Our Product, Technology, Design, and Data & Analytics teams have collaborated to bring these solutions to life, ensuring they are as intuitive as they are innovative. These advancements are just the start. As we continue to innovate in digital banking, I'm eager to see how we'll further improve the customer experience. A huge thank you to our technology teams for their passion and creativity. For an inside look at this exciting journey, visit the Next at Chase blog. http://spr.ly/6047LSGrR #bankingtechnology #innovation

After personally calling thousands of small businesses to sign them up for bank accounts, loans, and payment products, I’ve come to realize that their biggest obstacle isn’t interest—it's time. Even minor friction in the process can cost you the sale. Yet fintechs have to guard against onboarding bad merchants. You don’t want your platform used for stolen funds or fake products. The biggest mistake fintechs make is interrogating users at sign-up. Too many questions and required documentation lead to application abandonment. Here’s a 3-step checklist to streamline your sign-up process and acquire more customers. 1. Monitor behavior: Use analytics and transaction monitoring tools to spot suspicious activity. But stay sharp—savvy fraudsters can blend in for months. 2. Leverage external data: Multiply your user insights without asking extra questions or for additional documentation. Most fintechs neglect the power of external data sources. IP enrichment (MaxMind), email address history (Emailage), and industry data (Archer 🏹) all provide deeper insights into your users. 3. Act on the data: The real challenge is putting it to use. Reach out if you’d like to discuss strategies—we’d be happy to help think through how to put your data to work. 🔍 Balancing security with user experience is key. What tools or strategies do you use to attract and keep customers? Share your insights! 💬

User research is great, but what if you do not have the time or budget for it........ In an ideal world, you would test and validate every design decision. But, that is not always the reality. Sometimes you do not have the time, access, or budget to run full research studies. So how do you bridge the gap between guessing and making informed decisions? These are some of my favorites: 1️⃣ Analyze drop-off points: Where users abandon a flow tells you a lot. Are they getting stuck on an input field? Hesitating at the payment step? Running into bugs? These patterns reveal key problem areas. 2️⃣ Identify high-friction areas: Where users spend the most time can be good or bad. If a simple action is taking too long, that might signal confusion or inefficiency in the flow. 3️⃣ Watch real user behavior: Tools like Hotjar | by Contentsquare or PostHog let you record user sessions and see how people actually interact with your product. This exposes where users struggle in real time. 4️⃣ Talk to customer support: They hear customer frustrations daily. What are the most common complaints? What issues keep coming up? This feedback is gold for improving UX. 5️⃣ Leverage account managers: They are constantly talking to customers and solving their pain points, often without looping in the product team. Ask them what they are hearing. They will gladly share everything. 6️⃣ Use survey data: A simple Google Forms, Typeform, or Tally survey can collect direct feedback on user experience and pain points. 6️⃣ Reference industry leaders: Look at existing apps or products with similar features to what you are designing. Use them as inspiration to simplify your design decisions. Many foundational patterns have already been solved, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. I have used all of these methods throughout my career, but the trick is knowing when to use each one and when to push for proper user research. This comes with time. That said, not every feature or flow needs research. Some areas of a product are so well understood that testing does not add much value. What unconventional methods have you used to gather user feedback outside of traditional testing? _______ 👋🏻 I’m Wyatt—designer turned founder, building in public & sharing what I learn. Follow for more content like this!

If I was a C-level Executive at any of the big financial services firms (Goldman, JPMC, Fidelity, etc.), here's what I would do to attract the next generation of women as customers: The data is clear. With ✅ more women graduating from college than ever before, ✅ women inheriting $30 trillion in financial assets by 2030, ✅ but 73% of women being dissatisfied with their financial services, financial institutions have a huge opportunity - and quite frankly, responsibility - to engage Millennial and Gen Z women by addressing their unique financial needs and preferences. The problem: These companies are not speaking young women's language. Here's what needs to change: 1️⃣ Focus on community-based learning Young women prefer learning about investing alongside other like-minded women through online courses, cohort-based programs or memberships. Think Female Invest or Girls That Invest. These education media companies foster a sense of belonging and shared growth. First thing I'd do is activate those young personal finance thought leaders with meaningful audiences not only for influencer collabs but as (board) advisors. 2️⃣ Make it relatable Break down unnecessarily complex finance jargon and abbreviations into plain, relatable language. Make examples tangible and relevant to their personal and professional journeys. No more confusing terms—just clear, actionable advice. ETFs, expense ratios, target date funds—none of it is rocket science. But there's a need for relatable analogies and everyday language, so financial concepts become less intimidating and more engaging. 3️⃣ Avoid shaming Telling young women to stop buying lattes or beauty products won't resonate. Instead, teach them how to make their money work for them and increase their income over time. Focus on empowerment, not restriction. Highlight success stories of women who have taken control of their finances without sacrificing the things they love. Show how budgeting doesn't mean eliminating enjoyment but rather prioritizing spending in a way that aligns with their goals and values. 4️⃣ Upgrade your UI In today's digital age, aesthetics and user experience are paramount, especially for Millennials & Gen Z who are accustomed to intuitive + visually engaging platforms. Financial institutions must prioritize modernizing their interfaces to meet these expectations. A clunky or outdated user interface can deter young women from engaging with financial products and services. Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab—your UI needs an upgrade. Companies that do this well are: Alinea Invest, beatvest, Ellevest It's time for financial institutions to evolve, engage, and uplift—because the future of finance is female, and the next generation of women investors won't wait. --- P.S.: If this post resonated with you, follow me, Thamina Stoll, for more content that helps women in tech turn 6-figure salaries into 7-figure portfolios. + 👉Sign up for my free newsletter: [sheconomist.com]

One of the most impactful practices I’ve come across recently is something Stripe’s Katie Dill calls “walking the store.” In the comments, I've provided a link to her 2023 appearance on Lenny Rachitsky's podcast, in which they covered this practice in detail. Think of walking the store as a performance review for your product. At a scheduled interval, a team dedicates time to experience the product like a customer and record their findings. Here are the specific steps: 1. Identify the critical user journeys in your product. For example, account setup, billing/conversion, and inviting new teammates are all common user journeys. 2. Make sure a team is responsible for maintaining the quality of each critical user journey. 3. Create a process for each team to walk the store, keeping a “friction log” of anything that feels confusing, cumbersome, or inconsistent along the way. Since quality can be subjective, each team should score key aspects of the experience and create reports to document insights. 4. Calibrate across teams: To ensure consistency in scoring and measurement, teams calibrate their findings across all user journeys. Ideally, this process should occur before planning the next big cycle of work so that any improvements can be implemented quickly. This practice may seem tedious at first, but I'm always blown away by what I find. A couple of weeks ago, I went through the account setup process for the first time in a while and found twenty-two things we could improve. Another member of our customer support team (Disha Mungra 👏) recently evaluated our billing experience and provided tons of insightful feedback for the team. As products grow and become more sophisticated, it’s easy to lose sight of these critical journeys in favor of shiny new features. But ultimately, trust is built (or lost) in the details of those everyday user journeys. Have you tried something similar? I’d love to hear how you approach product quality in your company.

I spent 2 hours breaking down Webull Financial's $7.3 billion fintech onboarding flow. Here are 5 strategies to shave off 30 seconds and boost the number of users taking key actions by up to 61%. First let’s start with a breakdown. I first look at the core data points of each onboarding flow to better compare how it performs compared to others in the same niche. Here is their breakdown: ↳ Time to Sign Up: 231 seconds ↳ Screens: 24 ↳ Fields: 35 ↳ User Experience: 🫠 ↳ Overall Grade: F Robinhood for example has 10 screens, 10 fields, and took 185 seconds to sign up. And Kalshi was even faster at 114 seconds. They managed to collect even more information (11 fields) in only 6 screens, in less time, because they leveraged 1-Click Signup. So let’s dive into what Webull does well, and what they could do to improve even more. ✅ The Good Webull's copywriting is top-notch. Each title paints a picture of the user's future state. "Invest in stocks, ETFs & more with 0 commission" tells you exactly what you're getting into. Compare this to Robinhood, where titles are more generic and subtitles can ramble on. Webull's clarity is refreshing. ❌ The Not-So-Good Filling out this onboarding flow felt more tiring than waiting in line at the DMV. If users are exhausted before they even start using your platform, how likely are they to take key actions? Webull asks for 35 fields of information. Robinhood? Just 10. I found myself constantly thinking, "Is this info really necessary?" Especially upfront. And is there a way (like 1-Click Signup) to easily solve this problem? By front-loading so much information gathering, Webull delays the moment users can actually explore the platform. This is a missed opportunity for creating excitement and demonstrating value. ✍️ The Big Lesson Your onboarding isn't just about collecting data. It's about setting the stage for user success and excitement. Consider splitting your onboarding flow into stages. Let users explore your platform sooner, then gather additional info as it becomes relevant to their journey. And how can you use the onboarding process to delight your users, not just collect information for compliance? How much information do you really need upfront? Looking for more fintech onboarding breakdowns? Take a look at our leaderboard https://lnkd.in/dmXRJBMJ #FintechOnboarding #UserExperience #ProductStrategy #Onboarding

A prospect told me: "It’s been a challenge to refine the messaging for our different audiences." Here’s how I work with B2B teams to fix that: 1️⃣ Split, don’t blend Trying to build one single message for everyone usually means it resonates with… no one. So instead of chasing lukewarm common ground, we: - Anchor the core message on a shared frustration, capability, or benefit. - Build distinct pillars for each segment - Tailor pain points, outcomes, and language by using modular sections (e.g. persona-specific pages, homepage toggles) Clarity means deciding who gets what, where. ___ 2️⃣ Write for the user, optimize for the approver We direct the message to the primary user—the person feeling the pain, doing the research, and pushing for a solution internally. Then, we add signals for the signer (CFO, CRO, etc.) in the right spots. - Hero section speaks to the user pain - Pricing/ROI sections reassure the decision-maker with the specific proof points they care about Emotion for the buyer. Logic for the approver. ___ 3️⃣ Don’t cast a wide net, draw a line We sharpen the message to attract the right people (see point 2), and then add supporting pages or sections for the secondary segments. ❌ "One platform for all your workflows" ✅ "Built for scaling RevOps teams drowning in duct-taped data" Your homepage should repel the wrong leads as much as it should pull in the right ones. When you narrow the focus, you sharpen the impact. ___ 4️⃣ Let copy do less, and structure do more Messaging gets muddy when your copy tries to speak to everyone at once. We fix that with structure: - Hero = your universal promise (see point 1) - Below the fold = paths for each persona - E.g. "Are you in ops? Start here." - E.g. "Selling to finance? Go there." Cards, toggles, nav design... It’s about routing personas without watering down the message. It’s about deciding better: who you’re speaking to, what they need to hear, and when. And that’s exactly what we solve inside the two workshops I walk my clients through: → Lock in & polish your messaging attributes → Build the structure & flow of your homepage If your messaging feels off and what I shared above resonates, DM me or grab a slot on my calendar.

Look at what they do, not just what they say. User behavior is how users interact with and use software. It includes things like: → how people navigate the interface → which features people use most often → the order in which people perform tasks → how much time people spend on activities → how people react to prompts or feedback Product managers and designers must understand these behaviors. Analyzing user behavior can enhance the user experience, simplify processes, spot issues, and make the software more effective. Discovering the "why" behind user actions is the key to creating great software. In many of my sales discussions with teams, I notice that most rely too heavily on interviews to understand user problems. While interviews are a good starting point, they only cover half of the picture. What’s the benefit of going beyond interviews? → See actual user behavior, not just reported actions → Gain insights into unspoken needs in natural settings → Minimize behavior changes by observing discreetly → Capture genuine interactions for better data → Document detailed behaviors and interactions → Understand the full user journey and hidden pain points → Discover issues and opportunities users miss → Identify outside impacts on user behavior Most people don't think in a hyper-rational way—they're just trying to fit in. That's why when we built Helio, we included task-based activities to learn from users' actions and then provided follow-up questions about their thoughts and feelings. User behaviors aren't always rational. Several factors contribute to this: Cognitive Biases ↳ Users rely on mental shortcuts, often sticking to familiar but inefficient methods. Emotional Influence ↳ Emotions like stress or frustration can lead to hasty or illogical decisions. Habits and Routine ↳ Established habits may cause users to overlook better options or new features. Lack of Understanding ↳ Users may make choices based on limited knowledge, leading to seemingly irrational actions. Contextual Factors ↳ External factors like time pressure or distractions can impact user behavior. Social Influence ↳ Peer pressure or the desire to conform can also drive irrational choices. Observing user behavior, especially in large sample sizes, helps designers see how people naturally use products. This method gives a clearer and more accurate view of user behavior, uncovering hidden needs and issues that might not surface in interviews. #productdesign #productdiscovery #userresearch #uxresearch

If people don’t understand it, they won’t buy it. This is the #1 problem with marketing complex products like SaaS, proptech, and financial services. If your messaging is full of jargon, "smart-sounding" language, or abstract concepts, you’re making it harder for your buyers to say "yes." Here’s the reality: 🧠 Confused buyers don’t convert. 🚪 If they don’t get it, they walk away. So how do you simplify a complex product? Here’s the playbook: 1️⃣ Start with the problem, not the product Most companies lead with features like "integrates with 25+ platforms." No one cares.  Lead with the problem instead. When we worked with RWA Wealth, we could have led with "customized financial planning." But instead, we started with this problem: "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is about to expire. Are you ready for the impact on your taxes?" Simple. Clear. Relatable. If you’ve ever worried about your taxes, you’re clicking that link. 2️⃣ Use "kitchen table" language If your customer wouldn’t say it at their kitchen table, don’t say it in your content. No CFO says, "I need a comprehensive financial visibility solution." They say, "I need to know where our money is going." With RWA, we didn’t lead with "complex tax impact mitigation strategies." We asked, "Are you going to pay more in taxes next year?" That’s the difference. 3️⃣ Focus on outcomes, not features Don’t just tell them what your product does — tell them what it does for them. Feature: "Auto-syncs with QuickBooks" ❌ Outcome: "No more manual data entry at month-end" ✅ Outcomes > Features. Every time. 4️⃣ Teach, don’t sell If your product is hard to explain, show it. Don’t just tell it. We used this analogy: "Imagine you’re driving down the highway and your GPS tells you the road ahead is closed. Wouldn’t you want to know sooner?" The same logic applies to tax planning. If you know the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is expiring, you can prepare — instead of being blindsided next April. When you teach, you build trust. And trust drives conversions. When you make the message simple, relatable, and impossible to ignore, more people read it. More people stay on the page. More people book calls. People don’t buy what they don’t understand. Simplify your message. Win more customers.