Digital Banking
Revolutionizing Loan Access: Empowering Borrowers with Anytime, Anywhere Digital Banking​
OVERVIEW
Challenge
Two-third of Fram Credit partners wanted to improve digital banking experience to provide borrowers with instant access to information, attract new borrowers, and keep existing customers informed and secure—without relying on in-person or business-hour interactions.
Outcome
Reduced support calls by 65%, achieved 40% mobile app adoption, and secured user preference for the MVP over a 20+ year-old legacy system.
PROJECT
Digital Banking
A digital banking tool for modern farmers and ranchers to manage loans, schedule payments, access documents, get financial tips, and connect with their loan team—all in one place.
INFO
Role
Lead Product Designer
Team
1 Product Manager, 5 Developers, 2 QA, 1 Architect & Me
Timeline
2021 - 2023 (phase 1)
2023 - Present (phase 2)
Latest Digital Banking landing screen
Legacy Account Access
Latest Digital Banking landing screen
< Click the Arrow to Compare Before and After >
THOUGHTS & FEELINGS
I was excited to work on a project that empowers farmers and ranchers to make informed financial decisions. AgFirst has always prioritized strong relationships with its customers and community, and this initiative enhances that commitment. By providing borrowers with real-time access to essential financial data anytime, anywhere, we enable them to manage their finances with confidence.
This solution also streamlines processes for the loan team, allowing them to focus on what truly matters—helping customers maximize their financial resources more efficiently. By reducing manual inquiries and improving data accessibility, we create a seamless experience that strengthens trust and support between AgFirst and its borrowers.
My Individual Contribution
As the lead designer, I handled the end-to-end UI/UX for web, iOS, and Android. My role included analyzing user journeys from loan booking to closure, designing responsive web and mobile interfaces, ensuring alignment with iOS/Android guidelines, collaborating with borrowers and partners, coordinating with developers to ensure feasibility, and conducting usability testing. I focused on delivering a mobile-first MVP that integrated all key features from the legacy desktop application.
100%
Strategic Thinking
80%
Research
90%
Interaction Design
100%
Visual Design & Branding
Research
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
Why are we doing this?
1
Expanding account access
​
Transforming the AccountAccess feature into a digital banking app with real-time data for borrowers.
​
2
Building for borrower teams
​
Designing tools to support borrowers and their co-borrowers across farm credit associations.​
3
Enhancing digital interactions​
Creating a seamless digital experience that complements personal engagement with loan teams and banks.
DATA & METRIICS
Understanding the current experience
70%
Of borrowers were unaware of payment deadlines unless reminded by their loan officer.
95%
Of customers preferred contacting their loan officer directly for loan information instead of using the account access system.
<30%
Of borrowers had loans across multiple associations.
>10%
Of users utilized the secure messaging feature in account access.
HYPOTHESIS
A digital banking platform that gives users easy access to their finances, accounts, payments, and loans anytime, anywhere.
KEY OPPORTUNITIES
Overview of the previous
experience
The design was outdated, cluttered, and lacked interactivity. It had too many buttons and an unclear flow, making it hard for customers to easily access loan information and make informed decisions.
1
Information overload​
​
Users were shown all loans on the home screen, regardless of their status. This forced them to scroll through long lists to identify which loans required their attention.​
2 ​
Lack of Clear Actions
​
Buttons lacked distinction between primary, secondary, and tertiary actions. As a result, 80% of new users struggled to find where to access loan information.
3
No Loan Prioritization​
​
Loans were displayed in random order, with no sorting to highlight urgent actions or past-due accounts. This made it exhausting for users, especially those with multiple loans, to identify and address critical items.
4
Long Waits for Real-Time Info​
​
The legacy system wasn’t real-time, forcing users to wait through multiple business cycles for updated loan information. 90% of users resorted to calling their loan officer for faster answers.
5
No Access Across Associations​
​
The system didn’t allow users to view loans across associations, even under the same Farm Credit umbrella, requiring separate login credentials for each.
6
Desktop Only: No Mobile Access for Loan Management
​
Legacy account access was limited to desktop, leaving users without a convenient way to view or manage their loans on the go.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Identifying opportunities
Exploring various consumer and commercial websites, it quickly became clear that:
-
Clear primary buttons enabled borrowers to take immediate action easily.
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Displaying current or upcoming dues helped borrowers plan effectively.
-
Important updates and helpful information were often buried within the navigation.
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INTERVIEWS
Validating with our customers
Now, it was time to connect with our customers.
We focused on main discussion topics to better understand their needs and validate our metrics and assumptions.
Where do you usually find information about your loan?​
"
How do you share documents with your loan officer or team?​
"
Do you fill out your loan application yourself? If so, do you use an online tool or a PDF sent by your loan officer?​
"
Are you mainly interested in staying updated on your loan, or do you also look for personalized financial advice?
"
How do you usually remember and manage your loan payments?​
"
If you have loans with multiple associations or banks, how do you stay informed about all of them?
"
PERSONA & USER JOURNEY DETAILS
Synthesizing user research
USER PERSONAS
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
Feature prioritization
MUST HAVE
-
High-level amount due information displayed prominently.
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Filtering options to easily sort and locate specific loans.
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Quick and intuitive ways to initiate payments or transfers.
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Loan segregation based on associations for better organization.
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Clear primary buttons for immediate actions.
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Alerts for current and upcoming dues to help borrowers plan.
-
Mobile-friendly design for on-the-go access.
NICE TO HAVE
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Personalized financial insights and recommendations.
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Real-time chat support for immediate assistance.
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Delegated authority features to allow team members to access loan details with individual credentials.
-
Secure messaging within the platform for direct communication.
-
Visual loan prioritization, highlighting loans needing immediate action.
-
Consolidated view of loans across multiple associations under the same account.
Ideation
ITERATION 1
Easily find what you need
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Prioritized 'Make Payment' as the main action, making it easy for borrowers to schedule loan payments, the most common task in digital banking.
ITERATION 2
See everything at glance
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Streamlined the process, organizing data into clear blocks for borrowers to take actions.
Execution
HIGH FIDELITY DESIGNS
Biometrics authentication
Accounts and Documents
Future Payments
Impact
Evaluating our results
In order to asses if our new design had the impact we expected we needed to check our KPIs that we set ahead of time to quantify our results.
1
Number of CSC tickets​​
Login support tickets dropped by 65%, showing users can now easily unlock their accounts with biometric authentication without needing customer support.
2 ​
Future Payments​
80% of users now make payments through digital banking instead of calling their loan officer. This shows that our new feature for scheduling payments in advance and clearly indicating due dates has helped borrowers take timely action.
3
Mobile conversion
40% of our borrowers have switched to mobile banking for quicker, more timely actions.
Retrospective
NEXT STEPS
What comes next?
-
Personalize experience using data insights: Dynamically deliver educational materials tailored to active loans and transaction patterns.
-
Improve online and in-person user experience: Provide QR codes in-store for a guided online banking experience. Enable customers to initiate loan applications in-office and complete them online later.
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Develop comprehensive profiles: Gather information about borrowers' agricultural goals and lifestyles to populate guided training, Farm Credit University articles and courses, conferences, and recommended transaction methods.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Final thoughts & takeaways
​​Working on this project with multiple Fram Credit partners was such a rewarding experience. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to take the lead on this project, all the way from strategy & research to the final deliverable and measuring impact.
1
The best design might be the simplest​
2 ​
Scope creep is real
3
Never assume, always validate ​