This case study is the result of my work on a briefing from Aela's Bootcamp. The goal was to improve the user experience on a landing page of a digital bank.
Briefing
The proposed challenge by Bootcamp's project was to develop improvements in a user experience creating a landing page as a way to promote a service from a well-known company.
The exercise goal is to announce a product or service on a single page about one single product, being part of the study Design Principles, Usability Heuristics, Laws of UX, Design Psychology, and Prototyping.
The challenge of this project was to do a study and propose a redesign or create a new one landing page for the N26 entry in the Brazilian Market.
My role
I lead the UX process working independently as a case study, from the Understand to Explore phase on Design Thinking 101 from NNGroup.com.
Project Type: Study Case
Platform: Web
Project Context: December 2020
For the complete research and details see this Notion archive.
Understand Phase:
Empathize
Desk Research
A landing page acts for a specific business purpose, which can be bringing more user registration, increasing the number of downloads of an app or selling a certain service, for example. It's all about an experience for conversion: creating a structured flow so the user know everything they need in order to want to push the call-to-action button.
During this project, I will work on a new landing page for N26Bank, a blockchain powered digital bank focused on financial inclusion. The aim of the page is to show the services offered by the bank in order to bring more clients.
3 bi is the forecasted number of a global users that will have access to retail banking services through smartphones, tablets, PCs, and smartwatches by 2021
Digital banking Users to reach nearly 3 billion by 2021, Voicendata, 2017 in Deloitte Luxembourg Digital banking Benchmark.
Several traditional private banks in the country (Brazil) have also seen an increase in the opening of digital internet accounts. The fact is that this new scenario brought important changes and shortened the digitalisation process of these financial institutions by a few years.
We have already highlighted above: most banks already had digital services, but their account holders were still beginning to use them and become familiar with this type of technology, especially accessing the account via smartphone. Source: decodehub
Users
59% of digital banking users are up to 29 years old
35% in this same age group are users of traditional banks
Migration to digital services is more evident the younger the user is
6% have a digital bank account only
44% have an account in both
50% only in traditional banks
The rate / economy is the main criterion for the most part: 56%. In digital, it is decisive for 61% of people and in traditional for 50%
Most users of traditional banks (54%) are interested in opening a digital account; 23% of them are indifferent to digital banks, and 23% would not use digital accounts at all
Most people who use a bank, whether digital or traditional, already use some application on their cell phone.
Insecurity with digital banks decreases when the person increases their knowledge about the bank.
Most people who use traditional banks go to a bank branch once a month or less.
Although COVID-19 may lead to a crisis in the real economy, the impact on the banking system and on the bank-customer relationship can also be defined as a 'positive discontinuity' for the purpose of digitisation of the sector and the ability to offer an excellent customer experience.
Banks must earn consumer trust if they hope to provide lucrative advisory services as a cornerstone of their growth strategies.
Fees and tariffs have become the most important factor for users; then there is the perception of bureaucracy and the ease of opening an account
Digital Banks
They are:
Ease to open an account.
Decrease or absence of fees.
Everything is solved remotely, usually by the application itself.
Digital banks have won more and more fans in Brazil and this has everything to do with the facilities, benefits and agility they offer.
Resolution No. 4,753 of Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) decided that as of January 2020 it would no longer be mandatory to present physical documents for opening accounts.
According to the consultancy Juniper, in 2021, half of the global adult population is expected to have a digital account. It is a market with enormous growth potential.
The N26 Bank
An account that fits in with you
At N26 we are developing what we consider to be the first fully digital bank to operate globally.
N26 works to be a substitute bank for traditional banking and is based on three pillars:
a very powerful brand that connects with digital natives,
the best user experience in online banking and
transparency in prices, competitive, without conditions or hidden commissions.
At N26, we believe in the power of simplicity and intentional design. Each and every screen in our app was developed with you in mind.
The N26 business model is based, firstly, on costs. They have three million customers, operating everything from an office with 1,000 employees, the bank is in the cloud. It's all very efficient, very economical and cost structure is radically better than traditional banking. That allows them a solid business model with very little income.
Moreover, the two main channels of revenues are the memberships and the use of the cards. When a customer pays with the card, the added cost for it is zero, but they have a commission paid by the trade.
We work everyday to leverage technology, design and a fundamentally lean business model to provide a beautiful, streamlined and efficient banking experience for you. It’s what we mean when we say “Banking by Design.” Our updated N26 name and logo are important expressions of that commitment. Said Kelly Ford / CMO of N26.
"Transparency is one of the key drivers at N26, whether it's about eliminating hidden fees, providing real-time notifications and spending limits that users control, or even the sleek app design,"
Nicolas Kopp, US chief executive officer, N26 Inc.
N26 Customer Reviews
Asks their customers for reviews — whether positive or negative.
Typically replies to negative reviews in 2 weeks or less.
Has replied to 90% of their negative reviews. For the majority of customers “Awesome”, “Easy, fast and safe”, “So far the best bank”, “Fast shipment of the card” and even “makes life easier”.
"In our opinion, N26 might be a great solution for your banking needs." https://transumo.com/n26-review
"We understand the pain points that customers have experienced with traditional banks and work to solve them with a fast, easy and even enjoyable banking experience all from your smartphone."
Nicolas Kopp, US chief executive officer, N26 Inc.
Bonus 'curious' track: Why 26?
Now to answer a last question that we’re often asked: why 26? That’s the number of smaller cubes in a complete Rubik’s Cube. The point? The cube is complex, but if you know the correct sequence of moves, you can solve it quickly and elegantly. We try to apply the same approach to banking, which has historically been a complex and sometimes frustrating consumer experience that’s been short on innovation. With the right approach and combination of moves, we hope to make banking fundamentally better.
N26 in Brazil
The Central Bank granted operating license for the N26 Direct Credit Society, which will be headquartered in Sao Paulo (SP) and capital of R $ 2.008 million. The controllers are the founders of fintech, the Austrian Maximilian Tayenthal and Valentin Stalf.
At first, the institution should offer a digital account with different types of subscription only for individual customers. In the application, it will also be possible to have “spaces”, easy ways to open subaccounts. Over time, credit and investments will also be offered.
Brazilian Market
There is an old saying that in Brazil even the past is unpredictable.
Digital banking is enjoying a moment in Brazil. The combination of high smartphone penetration rates alongside a young demographic and a huge unbanked population is the perfect catalyst for a new generation of digital products that are transforming access to financial services.
The entry into the Brazilian market of the first and main European digital bank promises to give something to talk about, especially since it will put itself as a competitor of Nubank, currently leader among Brazilian fintechs.
Brazil has one of the largest banking concentrations in the world, with five banks holding 85% of the total assets of the commercial segment. For comparison, in the United States, the five largest banks do not hold even 50% of total market assets. Despite the unfavorable competition scenario, with each passing year the fintechs are gaining more and more prominence by modernizing the financial sector, offering new products and / or services that are increasingly personalized and accessible to a large portion of the population, bringing new experiences to businesses and consumers with surprising versatility in a highly regulated and bureaucratic sector.
Digital Banks: AgiBank, BanQi, Banco do Brasil, BMG, BS2, C6Bank, Inter, ModalMais, Neon, Next (Bradesco), NUbank, Original, Pag!, PagBank UOL, Pan, Sofisa Direto, SuperDigital (Santander), Woop (Sicredi).
These are new to the Brazilian market: Ebanx, N26, Revolut e Stone.
The digital wallets payments are: Ame, CieloPay, Iti, Mercado Pago, PicPay, RecargaPay and Wallet Safra.
Queues formed in front of traditional banks: Itaú, Bradesco and Caixa during the pandemic. October 2020, Rio de Janeiro.
And the huge bankarization of Brazilians with the offer of (covid-19) emergency aid generated an exponential growth of digital bank transactions - from paying bills payment to the most diverse purchases.
People went to Google to learn how to make digital transactions
More than 58 million Brazilians received some portion of the emergency aid, and the vast majority did so through digital accounts
5x increase in payments by digital means. Digital wallets represent 85% of payments made via the app.
74% of financial transactions in Brazil were carried out through digital channels Febrabam, April / 2020
More than half of digital bank customers in Brazil (55%) are Nubank (main account)
More than 2/3 say they are very satisfied and the others are satisfied with their digital bank
87% intend to maintain accounts both in traditional and digital banks
Competitors Analysis
Nubank
It is one of the best known and appeared in 2013 with the credit card annuity exemption policy. The news quickly spread to customers who found it abusive to have to pay to use the service.
Currently, Nubank is the largest independent digital bank with around 20 million customers, according to the institution's website. They focus a lot on the customer experience and argue against the bureaucracy of the traditional banking system.
Strengths:
credit card annuity exemption;
no account maintenance fee;
free and unlimited transfers;
card debit function;
withdraw from ATMs of the Banco24horas chain;
yield of securities even in the current account (at a rate similar to the CDI);
has a points program: you can use it to reduce expenses in restaurants and other partners of the digital bank. They can be transferred to the Smiles program;
does not charge for issuing a bank slip;
Negative points:
charges a fee on withdrawals at the ATM;
C6Bank
It was founded by former employees of competitor BTG-Pactual. C6Bank Officially started operations in August 2019.
Strengths:
does not charge a monthly account maintenance fee;
unlimited withdrawals at the ATMs of the Bancos24horas Network;
free and unlimited transfers and TEDs;
transfer by SMS;
debit and credit function on the card;
credit card annuity exemption for one year;
issue of unlimited ticket;
program of points that do not expire;
Banco Inter
Former Intermedium Bank. Banco Inter is an institution based in Belo Horizonte (MG) and formerly operated as a loan company. Nowadays he has an account for individuals and companies.
Strengths:
international credit card annuity exemption;
no account maintenance fee;
Free and unlimited TED and DOC;
card debit function;
CashBack option - is a feature available in the application at the bank. The customer chooses the product or service, purchases in the app and part of the amount spent on the purchase goes back to the customer;
withdraw from ATMs of the Banco24horas network without fees;
does not charge for issuing a bank slip;
Negative points:
does not have a mileage program on the credit card;
Brazilian Customer
One in 4 Brazilians does not have internet access, research shows that almost half of the people who do not have access to the network (41.6%) say that the reason for not accessing it is not knowing how to use it. One in three says they are not interested. Acoording to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE): Continuous National Household Sample Survey - Information and Communication Technology (Continuous Pnad TIC) 2018
In the month of August 2020, there were about 7.2MI of downloads of Brazilian digital bank apps. On Twitter, the mentions are mostly favorable (51%) and the most talked about subjects about digital banks are: credit card (35%), NFC (27%), PIX (23%) and credit card limit. credit (15%).
According to a survey carried out by the Qualibest Institute "Banking & Fintech Insight",
77% of the population has some relationship with banks, while another 23% are unbanked.
The type of relationship with the bank has to do with some obligations:
For 51% of people, the reason for opening an account is receiving a salary;
22% payment for services rendered;
8% due to payment for products sold.
Satisfied customers claim the following reasons:
35% say it is because of the ease of access to an agency;
33% say that the reason for a good relationship is in the ease of using Internet Banking and / or the application and also because it is where they receive the salary (they have a salary account);
25% because of security.
Dissatisfied customers mainly complain:
Of the tariffs charged, 33%;
Of the value of interest rates, 32%;
Credit limit offered, 24%;
The personal assistance of managers and attendants.
Meanwhile, the relationship with the unbanked public remains a challenge for financial institutions, as it means that adherence to the need for a change of habits, since 72% always use cash, while 71% do not bother to not have an account.
Also according to the survey, the degree of customer satisfaction with traditional banks is only 36%, against 48% of users of digital banks.
The best rated institutions are:
1st - Nubank
2nd - Banco Inter
3rd - Santander
4th - Itaú
5th - Caixa
6th - Banco do Brasil
7th - Bradesco
ProtoPersonas
Based on data collected in Desk Research I chose to create ProtoPersonas based on the profile of the digital bank user in Brazil outlined in this research.
Paradox of Specificity
The Paradox of Specificity, simply put, tells us that adapting our efforts to the needs of a more specific audience creates solutions that are useful to a much broader set of needs. For example, rather than trying to meet the needs of all your users, look at how to help a very specific user, or a set of users with the most specific needs. According to the Paradox of Specificity, chances are you’ll end up with a product or solution that meets the needs of a much bigger audience. Putting this theory to the test in your design work can have results that are good for your customers and for business. source
Empathy Map
So analysing these user profiles that could be fit by the end user profile for starting a N26 Bank account in Brazil, I highlighted the Pioneer type combined with the demographic data (millennial, woman)and among these 3 personas, I chose Carolina as the Target with the greatest conversion potential. Based on this profile, I developed the empathy map and mapped a possible user journey for her.
Pains
Feels overwhelmed with information about digital banks
She does not see advances in her savings at the moment
Spending long hours on search and reading
Fear about hidden fees
Gains
Needs to save for a life dream
Wants security with her money
New experiences
Credit as a young professional
Carolina's User Journey
Understand Phase:
Define
Goals
For a digital product to succeed, it is crucial to consider the uniqueness of the brand, their customer expectations and technology.
Great onboarding UX design shouldn’t just look good—it should answer the key questions your users have about your product, before they even know to ask them.
If the landing page is able to meet the information needs of a person, there will be a greater likelihood that the person become a client of the bank.
Thinking about your product’s first-time user experience through the lens of goal-oriented user onboarding can help you identify the best onboarding strategy for your unique product.
Focusing on helping your users achieve their goals can help you identify which in-product actions to build your onboarding around to drive users to your core value as efficiently as possible.
The main objective of a person when consulting the landing page is the search for information and this page success is to do the conversion to this curious person to a customer.
The person accesses a bank's landing page to get to know and gather information about the bank, to know the bank's proposals, plans, prices, benefits, etc.
Opportunities:
Our digital culture: 71% of Brazilians own a smartphone
Startups proliferation are revolutionizing the consumer journey
PIX: 24-hour instant QR code payment pilot launched by the Central Bank in 2020
~9.5 hours spent per user, per day, on the internet – 2nd most-intensive internet users in the world
The major player, Nubank’s customers saved more than USD 1.1 billion in fees over 6 years
Free online payments for clients, unbanked people
Brazilians are open to innovation and entrepreneurship - Innovative solutions are booming in Brazil’s market
39% of the population was classified as “early adopters” of digital apps in a 2015 report – one of the highest proportions in the world and a top market for innovative apps
Landing Page Layout Analysis
A N26 Landing Page for Brazil should have a structure similar to the other N26 pages, but adapted to the local culture and specifically.
First, a hero module with a photograph that represents Brazil, then topics with highlights about the bank, after that, a explanation about the topic number one, a social proof with numbers from N26 around the world. A CTA break before an explanation for he topic number two and three.
Next, a CTA break conclusive and a footer.
increase engagement
reducing noise clutter
elevating key details and focus on
improving content context and association
maintaining consistency clean visual direction
mindful design cues
Design Inception & Inspiration
Landing pages are online pages that aim to attract the visitor and guide (or influence) them to do a specific task (download an e-book, sign up to an event, buy a software, etc.).
A efficient Landing Page should content:
A clear headline
Some company credentials
Call-to-action
Short forms in case you need to collect users' information
Social approvement
Inspiration
Explore Phase:
Ideate
Moodboard
N26’s bright, poppy colors resonates with a millennial audience that is keen to focus on positivity and optimism.
Speaking of the new colors, teal (our primary branding color), golden wheat, rhubarb and petrol blue, Christian Hertlein, N26’s Head of Design said of the choice:
“When you first look at them, they seem like quite a traditional color set- a blue; a yellow; a green. But when you look again, you notice that they’re each an uncommon version of the simpler shade. The colors were purposely chosen for their character, to reflect and express our values.”
"Finances are an everyday part of life, a shared experience. That’s why we wanted to put people back at the center of it, with visuals that reflect the more human side of banking, but not in the way you expect. We wanted to show that banking doesn’t need to be boring. It can be simple, easy to use and perhaps even enjoyable."
To architect the best possible banking UX, speak the customers' language and become their ally. You can achieve it through empathy, in-depth knowledge of psychology, UX research, usability testing and a user-centered business mindset.
The N26 Landing Pages change, adapting to the reality of each country. Brazil, Germany, N26 Smart, EUA, Spain, France and Italy highlight the most relevant characteristics for each location.
LoFi Wireframe
The wireframe was thought with a simple menu and highlighting the most relevant characteristics for Brazil right above the hero image and the most valuable qualities comparing the other digital banks pages.
Logo + simplify menu (at least in the first onboarding Brazil)
Menu: Para você/ Para seu Negócio/ Mais and Acesse sua Conta + Abra sua conta (CTA)
Advantages listed
Free account / no taxes / no fees
Guaranteed - Central Bank BR, German IBAN, PIX BR
Notifications on time!
Cash withdrawal in Brazil - 24hrs ATMs
Simple app, fast digital, Gplay, AppleStore
Finances organized
Contact, Chat, support
Wireframe
In the wireframe with a medium fidelity I've refine some points drawing in the sketches.
N26 works to be a substitute bank for traditional banking and is based on three pillars:
a very powerful brand that connects with digital natives,
the best user experience in online banking and
transparency in prices, competitive, without conditions or hidden commissions.
User Interface
So I've located the CTA buttons on their places, use icons as N26 uses in their pages to highlight some important points right after numbers and then open more each feature in a zig zag way finishing with the chat, support and the final CTA.
The end result is a page that follows the identity already used on the N26 pages but adapted for the Brazilian public, with emphasis on the free account, security, free and immediate transfers. With a lean menu, it seeks to simplify the first impression of the website by the public in the country. Validation with highlighted numbers, available support and frequently asked questions also took place.
It arrived in Brazil. Open your account.
Advantages: security, tranquility, transparency.
Safety: approved by Branco Central, 7 million customers, 26 countries, + numbers.
Peace of mind: purchase notifications, easy lock / unlock.
I decided not to present the dreams and goals part: spaces, sub-accounts, financial goals at first, just the account and add an easy online chat support for any questions.
Explore Phase:
Prototype
References
Thanks for your attention!
For the complete research and details see this Notion archive.
This was a case study on a briefing from Aela's Bootcamp.
December 2020
