Santander Bank

(Mobile banking , App & Online banking)

Agency : Kin + Carta (K+C)

In the current app,

  • Users can not change their personal details (Email, Address, Mobile number)

  • Users can not change their Contactless limit

  • Users can not change their Overdraft limit (Increase or decrease)

Challenge

Given Santander's upcoming launch of the new 'ONE APP,' stakeholders have decided that aiming for a comprehensive solution within the current sprint is not advisable. Instead, they have requested the development of an MVP model that focuses on core journey issues, saving time and resources simultaneously.

Overview

Tools used

Figma, Sketch, InVision, Zeplin, Miro, ProtoPie, Analytics, LookBack, AxureRP & Usertesting.com …

I’ve worked with?

Project Managers, Stakeholders, BAs, Developers and Scrum masters

Design Team

There are multiple teams, but I have worked on these projects alone. I also collaborated with other UI designers for the Design system.

Time scale?

Worked for 1.5 years on multiple projects and followed the Agile process.

Project 2

Minimize calls and branch visits for updating personal details.

Overview

Santander UK is working to enhance their website and app for customers. Currently, it's a bit challenging for users to update personal details, overdraft, and contactless limits on the Santander Mobile/Tablet App. This puts pressure on customer services, leading to queues. Users are willing to visit branches for certain changes, like updating their email address. To streamline this process, Santander aims to assist users through their ChatBot, Sandi.

  • 1. Understanding the issue

    2. Research and gather data

    3. Prioritise the issues & work (problem statements)

    4. Pitch the ideas to stakeholders

    5. Wireframing the solution

    6. Rapid prototyping

    7. Test the concepts with the actual users and get feedback(Validating the designs)

    8. Workshops and testing sessions when required

    9. Iterate the wireframes quickly and test the prototypes

    10. Check the data before and after to measure results.

  • We had a team of about 15–20 engineers, including BAs, testers front-end, back-end and full-stack developers based in London.

    We also had a remote team based in India of about 5-8 engineers.

    + 1 designer (that’s me)

  • I led the whole design process from start to finish. This included collecting information (through user testing, feedback, and analytics), coming up with and testing ideas, researching users, creating wireframes and prototypes, attending meetings with stakeholders, participating in sprint calls with the development team, and making improvements based on business goals and user feedback.

Stage 1 : Scope & Understanding the issue

I facilitated a brainstorming workshop with the team to uncover issues and challenges experienced by individuals.

The session yielded the following revelations:

  1. A significant number of users are struggling to change their personal details

  2. Customers don’t like to call customer services for smaller issues (hate to wait in the queue)

  3. Customers don’t have time to go to branches
    to change their mobile number

  4. Customers can order a new debit card but they can’t see their details or change their address in the app.

    Challenges:

  5. The timeline and available sprints are limited, and the development of the new app is currently underway.

App home screen before chat option

Stage 2 : Audit & data / pain points gathering

While creating a new app, we also worked on making quick and easy improvements to the current app. If these changes work well, we might include them in the beta app.

These are the actionable and prioritised list of recommendations, with some of the main areas including:

  1. Frequent Personal Details Changes:

    • Over 7 million app users express a need to frequently update their personal details.

  2. Customer Service Calls:

    • Approximately 500 calls to customer services are related to address changes, indicating a notable pain point.

  3. Branch Visits for Personal Details:

    • Users are resorting to visiting local branches to make changes to their personal details, suggesting a usability challenge within the app.

  4. Reluctance to Web Login While Using the App:

    • Users express dissatisfaction with the need to log in to the web while concurrently using the app, indicating a friction point in the user journey.

Stage 3: Concepts & User testing

This represents only two sprints' worth of effort, so I haven't invested heavily in wireframing and low-fidelity designs.

I’ve used the components from the current design system to design concepts and designs.

Provided few concepts using the existing UI components

Entry point

  1. Added an entry point on the “My details“ screen

  2. User can see use this chat option in the help section too

Santander-app-screen

User selection

Santander-app-screen

  1. User can see all the available options upfront

  2. User can only select one option at anytime

  3. Users can view the personal details currently stored.

Stakeholders opted for an MVP approach due to time constraints, ensuring the delivery of essential functionality that effectively addresses the customer's needs.

In my exploration phase, I have delved deeper into various options and produced conceptual designs for testing purposes.

Santander-app-screen-chat
Santander-app-screen-chat
Santander-app-screen-chat
Santander-app-screen-chat

I’ve tested these journeys with Santander App users with different copy

I presented the prototypes in user testing sessions, and most users gone for the above short copy version.

The new design addressed the following issues

  1. Users can easily update their personal details without going to a local branch.

  2. Users can quickly change their details without waiting in long call queues.

  3. Users don't need to log in to online banking or the web version when using the app, making the experience smooth and hassle-free.

Stage 4: Shared findings with stakeholders & Iteration & Handover to Dev team

I shared findings with stakeholders, explaining the rationale behind selecting the final screens. Additionally, I discussed other pain points discovered during the process and circulated all recordings to keep the wider team informed.

I showcased the designs in sprint meetings, addressing developers' questions and guiding them through each screen. I provided the final Zeplin and Sketch links for their reference.

Result

This feature used by

“helping Millions of App users.”

All research findings, identified pain points, and conceptual insights will be incorporated into the design of the new app.

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