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Ideate Innovation x Mobilink
Jun 20, 2024
Digital Banking Experience Redesign
A major microfinance institution in Pakistan sought to improve its mobile banking platform: a critical digital channel for users, many of whom had limited digital literacy or access.
Industry
Fintech
Scope of work
UX & UI Design
Duration
3 months
Problem Statement
How might we redesign the MMBL Dost App to serve its core lower-to-middle-class audience, transforming it from a frustrating barrier into a digital experience that builds financial confidence and overcomes challenges like low digital literacy, barriers to access, and low numeracy?
Challange
Legacy architecture struggled to support scaling user needs.
The previous application lacked a cohesive design language, making new feature rollouts slow and disjointed. Users faced a steep learning curve, as key banking functions were buried under dense menus and unresponsive layouts that failed to communicate critical financial data effectively.
Phase I
Creating a future-proof foundation for digital banking.
Our first step in the design phase was to translate our research into a structural plan. Through in-depth field interviews and close collaboration with MMBL stakeholders, we identified and prioritized the most critical user journeys, such as account creation, funds transfer, and loan discovery. These validated journeys formed the essential blueprint for our Information Architecture (IA). Additionally, guided by three distinct user personalities we developed with the client, we began with low and mid-fidelity wireframes to de-risk the design process. This early step allowed us to validate the core information architecture and user flows with stakeholders, ensuring a solid structural foundation before committing to high-fidelity visuals.
Goal
Creating a future-proof foundation for digital banking.
The aim was to move beyond a visual refresh and establish a robust product architecture. We sought to unify the experience across all touchpoints, creating a seamless flow that could accommodate future fintech integrations without compromising on performance or usability.
Phase II
Research, Visual Direction and Wireframing
We conducted moderated usability tests on our high-fidelity prototypes using Maze to validate the redesigned user journeys. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and confirmed our core design decisions. Critically, the testing also revealed opportunities for refinement; for example, we observed users with low numeracy struggling with the loan calculator, which allowed us to iterate on the design for improved clarity before the final handoff. The final designs implemented our new, accessible UI kit across all ten user journeys. The result is a polished, modern, and consistent experience that feels both professional and trustworthy, reflecting MMBL's status as a leading digital bank.
Solution
Strategic UX anchored in a scalable component library.
We crafted a comprehensive design system that standardized UI components across the application. This approach streamlined the development handover and ensured a consistent, pixel-perfect user experience, allowing MMBL to scale their digital services rapidly and reliably.
Phase III
Final recommendations & Handoff
The final designs implemented our new, accessible UI kit across all ten user journeys. The result is a polished, modern, and consistent experience that feels both professional and trustworthy, reflecting MMBL's status as a leading digital bank. The project concluded with a comprehensive handoff to MMBL's development team and leadership. We delivered a complete, well-documented Figma file including the full design system with all components and styles to ensure a smooth and accurate implementation. To capstone the project, I led a final handover session, presenting our recommendation report and strategic findings to the CEO and other key stakeholders.
