UI/UX Design for FinTech: Must-Known Practices and Case Studies
Mar 06, 2024
The Fintech sector is rapidly growing, and with so many apps available, standing out of the crowd is a huge challenge. UI/UX design is a big part of whether your user will stick with you or try something else. For example, tax-management startup Finmo reduced customer drop-offs by 40% with the help of a UX design agency.
Read our guide on UI/UX applications for fintech and banking. Learn how to play by modern tech and design rules and harness the power of user-centered design principles!
What is UI/UX design?
First things first. Before diving into the intricacies of UI/UX design principles, let’s clear out what these terms mean.
UI design is all about the product's visual and interactive elements, which helps create an aesthetically pleasant user interface.
Example: designing the layout, colors, buttons, typography, or icons
Let’s be honest: even if you see an app that is super helpful, it also should be visually appealing, attractive, and user-friendly. There’s nothing worse than a glitchy, confusing, or even ugly app. With fierce competition in the world now, businesses struggle to create the best possible experiences for their users, and customers become increasingly demanding.
UX design focuses on usability, accessibility, and overall user experience. This means UX design is essential to create interaction design. Good UX design implies getting inside the user’s brain and anticipating their actions.
Example: micro-interactions like animations for screen transitions or input forms, such as dropdown menus for selecting account types.
UI and UX are like two sides of the same coin. They hardly exist without each other. There is no sense in a visually appealing but non-functional app. At the same time, a workable but not visually appealing app is akin to a well-built house with bland and uninspiring interiors. While it may serve its purpose, it lacks the allure and engagement necessary to captivate users and keep them coming back.
Both elements are crucial for web product development but work on different goals. Despite the stereotypes that banking or fintech apps can be totally grey and impersonal, that’s not the case in 2024. With technological advancements and a growing emphasis on user-centric design, modern banking and fintech apps prioritize simplicity, security, and personalized experiences to meet users' evolving needs and expectations.
4 must-known practices for UI and UX app development
Did you know that 80% of banks share similar functionalities? Furthermore, according to recent research, one in three people says they would stop interacting with an app after just one bad experience. If no improvement was made, then this percentage goes up to 59%.
UI/UX design is not only about locating objects on the screen in an appropriate manner. The big mission is to save users time and grant an understanding of everything right from the first interaction.
Yes, how you are able to navigate through the mobile app can be a decisive factor in whether you end up on your competitor’s app. Staying out of the crowd is not such an easy task. To do so, it is highly important to implement best practices for UI and UX software development.
Here are key takeaways on how to differentiate yourself in a fiercely competitive banking web app market.
Of course, to create a best-of-its-kind UI/UX design, it is important to hire skillful specialists. Reach out to our blog post to learn who is a better fit — freelance or in-house developers.
- Personalization
Implement user-centric design and personalized features like suggested services, targeted offers and discounts, etc. Let your users participate in the magic of app creation, adapt, and modify it by themselves. F.e., incorporating user preferences for notification settings, such as frequency and type of alerts, can enhance the user experience.
One notable feature that has recently appeared is artificial intelligence (AI) hyper-personalization. With the help of this feature, an app can proactively suggest personalized savings goals, investment opportunities, or budget adjustments to help users achieve their financial objectives more effectively.
Here is a list of TOP tools for UI/UX development:
- Figma Auto Layout
- UiPath AI Fabric
- Adobe Sensei
And if you are truly interested in the benefits of AI in software development, reach out to our post covering ChatGPT handy prompts and strategies for developers.
- Emotional-led design
According to research published in Harvard Research Review, emotionally engaged users are three times more likely to return and recommend your services.
Think: How can you engage with your users on an emotional level? Are there any specific challenges or pain points?
Gone are days of boring, impersonal, and irritatingly slow bank services. Now, if you don’t care about your users anticipating their desires, they’ll disappear (once and forever). Friendly bank managers no longer define the banking experience. Instead, it’s all about the digital journeys and experiences you create.
In fact, managing money can be viewed as a series of achievements and accomplishments. Try to incorporate such gamification tactics as progress tracking or achievement badges to resonate with users on a deeper level and inspire them to take control of their finances.
Example: a great example of making fun of the financial app sector is Google. The scratch cards strategy helped capture users' attention and engage them with their Google Pay app.
- Seamless onboarding
UI/UX design is not only about locating objects on the screen in an appropriate manner. The big mission is to save users time and grant an understanding of everything right from the first interaction.
Make things easy to find and utilize clear, intuitive prompts and instructions to guide users through each step, minimizing confusion and frustration. Offer interactive tutorials or walkthroughs highlighting the app's key features and functionalities. This can be done in the form of tooltips and contextual help features.
- Product identity
Learning about a new product is always like stepping into an empty world. However, the journey doesn’t have to be lonely or uninspiring. A strong product identity is important for establishing a meaningful connection with your clients.
See and compare these two examples.
- Zeller
Zeller’s design is clear and knit but, at the same time, cold and uninviting. Nothing stands out from a personal standpoint.
- A money management tool Emma
With emojis and whitespace, Emma looks more welcoming and less foreign. As a result, unwanted friction is decreased.
Now that we’ve learned some best practices for building appealing UI/UX design, let’s delve into the case studies of banking apps that make your heart beats faster and faster. Armed with this insight, you can create your own standout app!
Case Studies in the fintech industry
See the TOP three fintech apps that caught our eye at first sight.
- 🔥 StockPe
Winning the international MUSE Awards in 2022 for the best educational app design, StockPe makes finance education highly enjoyable and interactive. The platform uses gamification elements that help users compete with their peers in tournaments based on live stock market data.
Key features:
🚀Dark mode
🚀Beginner-friendly design
🚀Bite-sized content for on-the-go learning
- 🔥 Bella
Bella has tried to introduce the concept of conversational banking. The main goal was to let users interact with an app in a less formal way. This includes checking account balances, getting financial advice, or simply making transactions.
Key features:
🚀AI-powered interfaces and chatbots
🚀Personalized recommendations and insights
🚀Seamless integration with third-party services
- 🔥Monobank
One of the most well-known Ukrainian banks has set a remarkable precedent with the help of an innovative gamification campaign. The target audience of Monobank is the young generation, a digital-savvy audience that is constantly looking for engaging experiences that align with their lifestyle.
Key features:
🚀Mascot integration
🚀Interactive onboarding
🚀Achievement badges
Wrapping up
There is no golden rule for everyone. The secret is in studying your audience, and here, an intuitive and user-friendly design is your go-to solution since banking and fintech apps can be increasingly complex.
With the Devs Network from Europe, Devler.io has great software development and UI/UX design expertise. So, if you are facing challenges in developing or enhancing your banking or fintech app, then do not hesitate to apply to us.
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