The following is a guest post by Kristiane Mandraki, VP of Growth at Praxent.
In a world where the user experience is do or die, fintechs continue to lose wallet share and loyalty due to mistakes around frontend design and development.
Financial services providers have relied on system-centric experiences rather than human-centric ones for too long. However, that is quickly changing.
A recent uptick in UI/UX fintech design and development patterns and practices that put the user in the center and correct common friction points. Trends such as less information required during onboarding, contextual financial education, and prioritizing trust are helping fintechs increase adoption and engagement and build more seamless experiences.
From collecting detailed personal information, verifying identity, setting up account preferences, and funding, onboarding can notoriously be time-consuming and tedious. A cumbersome or lengthy onboarding journey is one of the primary causes of abandonment.
To minimize information overload and reduce time commitment, more fintechs are starting to separate onboarding flows, no longer requiring the user to set up all products or fund all accounts simultaneously.
Breaking up the process reduces friction and boosts conversions. Technology can also help speed up the process – for example, allowing users to take a picture of their driver’s license and then auto-populating several fields can shave off several minutes.
Another powerful trend noticed during onboarding is incorporating reminders of the fintech’s unique value proposition. Weaving in brand promises during the initial engagement will remind the user why they’re signing up in the first place.
This will likely increase the probability that they complete the application and engage once onboarded.
Given recent widespread economic anxiety, financial health and literacy are more important than ever. While the intentions are promising, many fintechs and banks try to instill financial education by sharing it in large, time-consuming chunks. However, users learn more effectively and meaningfully when financial education is shared within the context of their regular activity, making it more relevant and consumable.
To help make financial literacy more effective, more fintechs aim to provide education in the context of a user’s journey, helping users make informed decisions at critical points.
For example, many are lost when choosing a contribution rate, which is a substantial opportunity for the wealthtech powering the experience to provide information about what peers are contributing and education around different options.
By making financial education more applicable and contextual, fintechs can make meaningful progress in helping users improve their financial health, make smarter financial decisions and build wealth.
It’s no secret that trust is a critical component in financial services. Something less commonly acknowledged but equally valid is that the importance of trust extends to the building process of the technology that powers user experiences.
Software built by teams who are disjointed, apathetic, or distrustful of one other has been proven to result in inferior experiences, even if all boxes are technically checked.
Conway’s law reveals that the architecture of systems developed by an organization directly reflects that organization’s communication structure.
This means a team’s principles, ethos, and dynamics are imprinted into the software they create.
If the team functions well and fosters trust among its members, the software product will naturally inspire trust in its users.
The trust behind technology matters. To build seamless and reliable experiences, more fintechs are focusing on building a culture of trust within their team and infusing that trust into the design and development process.
The user experience continues to be a make-or-break for fintechs, forcing many to reevaluate their design principles and how they approach the overall development process.
By keeping a pulse on and embracing UI/UX best practices, fintechs will be well-positioned to strengthen user adoption and loyalty, increasing conversion rates and revenue.
Kristiane is the VP of Growth for Austin-based fintech product agency Praxent and the head of conference partnerships and events for the Women in Fintech group. With over ten years of experience in financial services, Kristiane oversees client proposals, new account growth, marketing strategy, go-to-market strategies, and more for Praxent. Kristiane is passionate about all things fintech, emerging technologies, and helping people improve their financial wellness.
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