Integrating a new feature to enhance user experience and create a more engaging journey through financial planning.
Timeline
January - February 2023 (4 weeks)
Role
Solo, UX Research, UI design
Stakeholders
WISE
INTRODUCTION
Overview
TransferWise, which recently renamed itself Wise, is essentially an online account where you can send money abroad or get paid in other currencies, and spend abroad on their Wise debit card.
Within the app, users can hold multi currencies by exchanging them in-app at attractive rates. They can then use these currencies overseas to make payments and transfers. As such it is a highly utilized app amongst digital nomads and frequent travellers.
Problem
Whilst WISE may be successful in its main functions, users of this app also use it to monitor their cashflows and therefore would benefit from a budgeting feature, either to track or manage expenses. WISE lacks this ad users often have to rely on multiple other platforms to accomplish these tasks.
Solution
Introducing budgeting and savings planners to create an all-in-one financial platform.
Improved visualizations that helps breaks down budget summary at a glance
Linking external accounts allowing users to consolidate budget planning and monitoring
Personalized advice and alerts for unusual spending.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
UNDERSTANDING THE EXISTING MARKET. WHAT OTHER PLALTFORMS ARE USERS ON?
International payment gateways and mobile banking solutions are playing crucial roles in making a cashless world a reality. With the pandemic helping to further advance this cause.
Basic budget apps typically connect with your financial accounts, track spending and categorize expenses so you can see where your money is going. But many apps do much more than that.
Below we look at a few companies that accomplishes these functions.
USER INTERVIEWS
SECURITY AND RELIABILITY ARE WHY USERS CHOOSE WISE OVER COMPETITORS
An interview was conducted with 4 users who are current users of Wise. Amongst these users, the common consensus for them using Wise was that it is known for its security as well as reliability. Wise is a popular choice of app amongst frequent travellers as a cross country financial platform.
MAJOR INSIGHTS
Validating the problem assumption
The above are factors which contributed to positive experiences in using a financial app. However, most of them would prefer using an all-in-one platform where they can also perform budgeting and financial planning as well as have clear and easy to understand graphics and summary of their financial standing. They would also like for the app to be able to integrate with their other financial accounts as well so that they can get a more complete picture of their financial situation.
“I'm always on the move and I need a banking app that can keep up with my lifestyle.”
User Motivations 😃
User Pain Points 😡
USER PERSONA
IDEATE
Constructing the user journey
The user flow takes us through the journey of a typical user and the decisions they make along the way. By mapping this out, we are able to streamline unnecessary steps and make the user journey as smooth as possible.
THE DESIGN
Wireframes
Based on findings that have been obtained so far, I then took the next step of putting pen to paper. This process began by sketching low-fidelity and drafting medium-fidelity wireframes.
BEING ON BRAND
The Style Guide
I decided to use Open Sans font for its simplicity, clarity yet modern design character. When selecting the color scheme, my biggest inspiration was the natural tones of wood furniture. The scheme has been applied throughout the platform in a consistent manner to reinforce brand.
USABILITY TESTING
Finetune and refinement
We conducted a usability test with 5 participants to identify gaps in the design. This also provided with much opportunities for improvement. We collated results and prioritised improvements to be made, below are the changes made.
THE FINAL DESIGN
High-fidelity wireframes
The final design embodies all of the research that has been done and brought forth features that is in line with the typical user persona. The brand style has been applied to pair with the UI to bring to the user a consistent design system.
PROTOTYPE
Check out the prototype and try out the platform!
NEXT STEPS
Conclusion
Overall I enjoyed the process of building off of WISE’s simplistic, modern and playful design elements. Integrating the budgeting and savings feature was a challenging but rewarding experience. Although working with the existing design systems whilst trying to adapt to the new features was challenging, it is an crucial aspect of project which would provide with good experience for future similarly challenged projects.
