💳 Improving the checking account opening experience
Context
M&T Bank is a regional bank that offers a wide range of products and services to consumers and businesses.
In 2018, M&T had issues with its online account opening experience. Most online users left before completing their application. When compared to those who opened accounts in a branch, those who successfully opened accounts online were more likely to close their accounts within six months.
I led a team that helped M&T redesign its online account opening experience. The problem we focused on solving was:
How might we help customers open the account that's right for them and understand how to use their new account to its full potential, thereby achieving their goals?
Our design team included six UX designers, a content strategist, and me. As the design lead, I was responsible for managing our relationship with M&T, ensuring each team member was positioned for success, guiding our approach, providing strategic direction, and contributing to design deliverables.
How we approached the program
Supporting a rapidly maturing organization
Our work on the account opening program didn’t exist in a vacuum. At the time, M&T was going through rapid change and our program was a critical part of M&T’s maturation. Some of M&T’s strategic goals that influenced our approach were:
Digital transformation – M&T was beginning a years-long digital transformation and the account opening program was their first initiative that combined human centered design and agile product development.
Scaling account opening across the bank – Once we launched our first product, M&T’s most popular checking account, M&T planned to scale the account opening application to support in-branch account opening and all consumer banking and lending products.
Building a design system – As M&T’s internal UX team was maturing, they wanted to bring standards to all experiences at the bank with an M&T design system.
Building on M&T’s foundational insights to show progress quickly
Before we joined the project, the M&T core product team conducted research to understand the existing experience. When we joined, the UX lead from M&T was under a lot of pressure to start ‘showing results.’ Using their foundational research, we accelerated our discovery so we could begin designing the new experience quickly.
We structured our approach into the following phases:
1️⃣ Identifying user needs and opportunities.
2️⃣ Designing the new experience.
3️⃣ Piloting the new experience.
4️⃣ Releasing and measuring the new experience.
5️⃣ Scaling our work and approach.
1️⃣ Identifying user needs and opportunities
To gain first-hand experience with the problem space and empathize with end-users, we observed M&T customers open checking accounts in M&T branches. Our observations combined with M&T's discovery research allowed us to identify and prioritize opportunities to improve the experience. Later, our time spent at the branches allowed us to quickly pivot to designing the in-branch account opening experience.
The legacy account opening experience
Screenshots of the legacy online account opening experience. Click to enlarge.
The challenges we observed
Online users most frequently abandoned their applications upon reaching the overdraft election and anti-money laundering (AML) questions. In branches, we observed bankers paraphrasing the AML questions and using more relatable language.
Online users could only fund their new checking accounts with direct deposit (ACH). The ACH process took several days, so users couldn’t access their money until the ACH cleared. In branches, customers could fund their new checking accounts using an ACH transfer, debit card, or an existing M&T account. M&T's research showed that funding a new checking account at opening was highly correlated with new accounts remaining open beyond six months.
Online, returning customers had to re-enter their personal information as if they were new customers. However, bankers could look up customer information in branches without asking for personal information.
The online experience was not responsive or accessible to people using assistive technologies.
The highest priority features
Allowing returning online banking users to log in and avoid re-entering their personal information.
Reducing the number of required AML questions so users could focus on opening their new checking account rather than answering intrusive questions.
Improving how M&T described overdraft election to users, so they could make more informed decisions when setting up their new checking account.
Providing users with more initial funding options so they could use the money in their new checking accounts immediately.
Designing a responsive and accessible interface, so anyone could open a new checking account online using their preferred context.
2️⃣ Designing the new experience
Exploring possible directions
Based on the legacy application and competitor experiences, there were various options for how we structured the new account opening application.
We evaluated a variety of experience flows using lo-fi wireframes and rapid prototypes.
Identifying successful patterns
By iteratively testing the experience, we identified successful design patterns that improved the overall account opening experience.
Shorter, single-topic pages helped users focus on a single task and made the application process feel faster.
Knowing that opting into overdraft could result in fees helped users make a more informed decision.
Simplifying the application process
Working with subject matter experts from the legal, compliance, and risk departments, we simplified complicated sections of the account opening application.
We reduced the number of AML questions from 10 to 4.
We reduced the number of clicks required for accepting the various disclosure documents.
Designing for scale
We planned for our designs to scale to support all online account opening applications and different experiences across M&T.
We mapped the account opening applications for all deposit accounts.
Our scalable design library become the foundation for M&T’s design system.
3️⃣ Piloting the new experience
Before fully releasing the experience, we recommended that we pilot the new experience with a limited group of customers so we could identify any critical changes we needed before launching. We scheduled in-home observations with 20 customers who opened real checking accounts using the new experience.
During the pilot we observed:
Account opening took an average of approximately five minutes, and participants were delighted with how easy it felt.
Participants had a plan for funding their checking account and a specific use for their new checking account before starting the process.
Even with the account number and routing number available at the end of the application, the new checking account didn't feel 'real' or truly 'open' until participants saw it listed in their online banking or in the app alongside their other pre-existing accounts.
Before the public release…
We prioritized guiding users into their online banking accounts once they opened their new checking account.
4️⃣ Releasing and measuring the new experience
Following the release of the new checking account opening experience, we saw a 50% decrease in the number of customers that abandoned their applications without opening their accounts.
The end-to-end account opening flow. Click to enlarge.
5️⃣ Scaling our work and approach
Once the new experience was live in production and users were opening new checking accounts, we began to scale the account opening application to include savings accounts and credit cards, and the in-person account opening experience in M&T's branches.
Our work on the new account experience led to new initiatives across M&T, including:
Establishing a working group focused on improving M&T’s overdraft experience and policies holistically.
Building the new M&T design systems based on the UI component library we designed and built for account opening.
Applying human-centered design to rethink M&T’s online banking experience.