Deposit Account Opening
The Deposit account product was a lengthy, visually stale experience and users were abandoning at a critical step, funding the account. The funding step is crucial for financial institutions as it ensures customer commitment and helps prevent fraud.
I spearheaded this initiative after aligning with my Product partner on identifying a significant market opportunity—shifting consumer preferences, increased competition in digital banking, and macro economic shift all pointed to the need for a stronger deposit account experience.
I drove the effort end-to-end by:
Aligned stakeholders around the opportunity and urgency
Organized and led a cross-functional design-thinking workshop to define our north star experience
Convinced leadership to allocate additional resources to improve both the onboarding flow and the UI
Led small team of product designers while partnering closely with Product, Product Marketing, Engineering and Compliance to ensure cross-functional alignment
Why now?
Macro economic shifts and changing consumer preferences
Credit union CEOs that cited deposits
as their top priority.
Executives view fintechs and challenger banks as threats
A Collaborative approach
I believe successful initiatives are built on cross-functional collaboration and shared understanding. I approached this project in three key phases to identify the problem and shape a scalable solution:
Facilitated a cross-functional design-thinking workshop to align teams on goals and co-create potential solutions
Analyzed product data to pinpoint where users experienced friction and drop-off during onboarding
Synthesized insights from customer feedback, competitive analysis, and usability testing to inform design direction and prioritize improvements
We identified three areas of improvement to achieve our goals of making the application length shorter, decreasing manual input, and increasing funding conversion. To achieve these goals, we focused on the following areas:
Existing • 13 steps to completion
Proposed • 6 steps to completion
What’s not working?
We believed users were abandoning this important step because:
They aren’t seeing a preferred funding method
Do not realize their account will be closed in 30 days without funding.
Original screens
Approach
During the workshop, we brainstormed ways to improve funding performance as well as ways to differentiate Blend’s experience from competitors.
The experience will have increased conversion if:
Remove option to skip
Provide multiple funding methods
Move step pre-submit so it appears prior to approval screen
72% of applicants open 2 or more accounts within one application, but current funding offerings only allow for a single funding source. We believe offering a solution for complex applications, such as opening Checking and CD accounts, would be a differentiator based on the landscape.
Approach
Improving the UI will lead to increased application conversion, customer retention, and long-term business growth. I conducted a workshop with my team to collaboratively define a vision state for the modernized UI. I then guided them through usability testing to measure improvements in engagement, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
Results
Reflection
This project underscored the value of design leadership in navigating ambiguity. By guiding the team through a murky space, aligning partners, and championing a long-term view, we delivered more than just a better deposit account opening—we reshaped how the company thought about user relationships.
It remains one of my most impactful moments as a design leader.
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