About Svea
Svea is a financial institution and bank. They offer both services to companies and private customers such as business loans, private credits and payment solutions for e-commerce.
The problem
Svea operates across multiple distinct business areas, each offering its own range of products. Although customers perceive Svea as a single entity, it's actually multiple companies. This organizational complexity resulted in a significant issue: customers struggle to locate and make payments for their purchases. The lack of clarity and notifications led to customer frustration, missed payments, and a strained customer relationship. Consequently, it also triggered a high volume of inquiries to customer service.
The goal
The goal was to enhance the payment experience for Svea’s customers by creating a user-centered payment solution, providing them with a single point of entry. By reducing the frustration, the long- term customer relationship could be strengthened.
Competitive analysis
Throughout the entire project, I conducted competitive analyses on similar products. Our objective was to observe how competitors structured their payment flows. What steps did they include? What features did they have? What kind of feeling were they aiming for?
I discovered that many competitors tried to infuse playfulness into the traditionally formal finance style. Soft values took the spotlight. Establishing a installment plan was streamlined into as few steps as possible. Transparency was also a key focus. Making heavy information easy to digest.
The insights we gained from these analyses influenced our design approach. We aimed to balance the financial aspects with a welcoming and accessible tone, allowing users to effortlessly navigate the payment process.
Customer need
We didn't have access to actual customers, which led me to uncover user needs by examining customer service materials. Within the material, I identified pain points and got an understanding of the problems the solution could address.
This approach not only allowed us to bridge the gap caused by the absence of real customers but also enabled us to proactively anticipate and tackle user challenges.
The following needs were found:
- See unpaid invoices
- Get an overview over installment plan
- See invoice details and contract details
- See paid invoices
- Choose to pay the full amount at once or a smaller amount
- Add and reuse payment methods
- Get notifications
- FAQ and customer service
Explore & Define
There was no documentation available regarding how the two business areas managed payments. Therefore, I initiated the project by mapping out the operations of both business areas along with their processes. This was achieved through direct engagement with stakeholders from each respective area. I created an extensive service blueprint-like chart to comprehensively outline the payment processes of the two business areas.
Once I had a grasp of all the underlying factors that needed consideration, I proceeded to create flowcharts over a possible payment flow for the app and then started sketching layout designs.
The process
In broad strokes, the process looked like this:
- Understand the problem
- Competitive analysis
- Low fi sketch
- Usability test
- Iterate on design
- High fi design
- Deliver design to developers
The final result
Due to some challenges in technically integrating two business areas into a single cohesive product, the project took longer than expected. Despite the setbacks, the project was an achievement as we had created a product that gave customers control and clarity over their payments. We managed to make complex payment processes easy and smooth. The product did not only foster a stronger relationship between the customers and Svea but was also the starting point for future collaboration between the business areas.
