UX design

Mobile app

Creating a smooth mortgage experience in a daily banking app with 3+ million users

Creating a smooth mortgage experience in a daily banking app with 3+ million users

Creating a smooth mortgage experience in a daily banking app with 3+ million users

Getting a mortgage is complicated, but what if it doesn't have to be this way?
What if you could purchase a house just by using your phone?

Raiffeisen Bank was one of the first, that tried to answer these questions.

And to help them with that, we designed an end-to-end mortgage application in a daily banking app with more than 3 million daily users.

Key results

2.5x

2.5x

2.5x

conversion and applications per month

>50%

>50%

>50%

of all applications now come via the app — teams' KPI

of all applications now come via the app — teams' KPI

~10%

~10%

~10%

More approvals

More

More

More

opportunities for growth with a new customer acquisition channel

Mortgage is complicated enough in the web, why use an app?

Mortgage is complicated enough in the web, why use an app?

By going mobile we could

By going mobile we could

Increase conversion and get more applications

Existing process was inefficient and felt outdated — that created challenges for the users and a lot of churn

Existing process was inefficient and felt outdated — that created challenges for the users and a lot of churn

Improve lead quality and achieve higher approval rate

Existing customers were a prime fit. The process could become much smoother, since we already had their data available in the application.

Decrease customer acquisition costs

Putting mortgage in the app meant free exposure to a loyal customer base in a place they visit daily

Lower managers’ stress and operational costs

Better traffic meant less calls, returns, clarifications and in general less work for the managers.

Research and available data

Research and available data

Research and available data

We always try to keep research as lean as possible, so we made use of the available information and filled in the gaps where needed.

Identifying common issues, questions and pain-points

Identifying common issues, questions and pain-points

We compiled a list of issues, commonly asked questions and pain-points, that we used to inform future product decisions.

  • It’s extremely difficult to fill on mobile

  • Why can’t I calculate the terms before I fill the application?

  • My rate is totally different from the advertised!

  • I thought I can only do this in the branch

  • Will it save my data if I leave?

  • I couldn’t complete the form — it was too confusing

  • Can I upload an electronic version of my docs?

  • The experience is a total mess, it’s super confusing

  • Next steps were unclear

  • Why did my monthly payment go up so much?

  • I don’t understand how much I’ll be paying per month

  • I didn’t know I could apply if I’m a business owner

  • There’s no way for me to know if I’m eligible for subsidies

  • I don’t want to get the insurance, what’s the point?

  • Can I use my property as a collateral?

  • I couldn’t find my city

  • Can I purchase apartments?

  • Can I still apply if I’m self-employed?

  • Who can be a co-signer? What does it imply?

  • It was unclear if I was eligible for refinancing

  • Can I use my state-sponsored maternity capital?

  • It’s extremely difficult to fill on mobile

  • Why can’t I calculate the terms before I fill the application?

  • My rate is totally different from the advertised!

  • I thought I can only do this in the branch

  • Will it save my data if I leave?

  • I couldn’t complete the form — it was too confusing

  • Can I upload an electronic version of my docs?

  • The experience is a total mess, it’s super confusing

  • Next steps were unclear

  • Why did my monthly payment go up so much?

  • I don’t understand how much I’ll be paying per month

  • I didn’t know I could apply if I’m a business owner

  • There’s no way for me to know if I’m eligible for subsidies

  • I don’t want to get the insurance, what’s the point?

  • Can I use my property as a collateral?

  • I couldn’t find my city

  • Can I purchase apartments?

  • Can I still apply if I’m self-employed?

  • Who can be a co-signer? What does it imply?

  • It was unclear if I was eligible for refinancing

  • Can I use my state-sponsored maternity capital?

  • It’s extremely difficult to fill on mobile

  • Why can’t I calculate the terms before I fill the application?

  • My rate is totally different from the advertised!

  • I thought I can only do this in the branch

  • Will it save my data if I leave?

  • I couldn’t complete the form — it was too confusing

  • Can I upload an electronic version of my docs?

  • The experience is a total mess, it’s super confusing

  • Next steps were unclear

  • Why did my monthly payment go up so much?

  • I don’t understand how much I’ll be paying per month

  • I didn’t know I could apply if I’m a business owner

  • There’s no way for me to know if I’m eligible for subsidies

  • I don’t want to get the insurance, what’s the point?

  • Can I use my property as a collateral?

  • I couldn’t find my city

  • Can I purchase apartments?

  • Can I still apply if I’m self-employed?

  • Who can be a co-signer? What does it imply?

  • It was unclear if I was eligible for refinancing

  • Can I use my state-sponsored maternity capital?

Taking all of the above into account, we focused on

Visible progress
and simple navigation

Progress is visible and every step is accessible from one screen — you can clearly see what’s filled, what’s left and how to come back where you need to.

One button to rule them all

One button to rule them all

It can be hard to understand what you should do next, especially in long forms. We added a clear CTA to every screen, which always takes you to the next step.

Guiding through tricky parts and asking just enough

Guiding through tricky parts and asking just enough

Reducing cognitive load is key — we scrutinised every piece of required information and pre-filled with available or public information to reduce the amount of steps to a minimum.

We split what remained into digestible steps with a single focus and used copy to sound as if the app is talking to you.

Optimising each step to save time and effort

Calculating terms is easier with sliders and filling out details is easier with suggestions. Some info could be obtained from government services, some didn’t need to be specific in the first place.

Improving all parts of the process

Sometimes everything goes smoothly right away, but often bank managers need to elaborate a few things. This became a part of the same process — no more phone calls and awkward emails.

Eliminating assumptions with 20 UX testing sessions

This mortgage experience was the first product of its kind in the market and we wanted to alleviate as many risks as possible before release.

We invited 20 people with different backgrounds who had a previous experience or were at that time applying to get a mortgage. We conducted a brief interview and asked them to go through an interactive prototype.

Everyone successfully made it through the prototype with minor background — we gained a few insights that helped polish the UX copy and improve several steps.

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What does the manager want to elaborate?

  • What is the difference between insurance programs?

  • Would you use precise calculations or just approximate?

  • Would your data be saved?

  • How do the terms selected affect your rate and payment?

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What do you think of the programs?

  • Have you ever taken out a mortgage before?

  • Have you submitted any applications recently?

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What does the manager want to elaborate?

  • What is the difference between insurance programs?

  • Would you use precise calculations or just approximate?

  • Would your data be saved?

  • How do the terms selected affect your rate and payment?

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What do you think of the programs?

  • Have you ever taken out a mortgage before?

  • Have you submitted any applications recently?

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What does the manager want to elaborate?

  • What is the difference between insurance programs?

  • Would you use precise calculations or just approximate?

  • Would your data be saved?

  • How do the terms selected affect your rate and payment?

  • What would you do if you wanted to change the terms on this step?

  • What’s the difference between them?

  • What do you think of the programs?

  • Have you ever taken out a mortgage before?

  • Have you submitted any applications recently?

6 months after release

The results of the project smashed the KPIs and created a platform for further experiments and growth.

The results of the project smashed the KPIs and created a platform for further experiments and growth.

2.5x

2.5x

2.5x

conversion and applications per month

>50%

>50%

>50%

of all applications now come via the app — teams' KPI

~10%

~10%

~10%

More approvals

More

More

More

opportunities for growth with a new customer acquisition channel

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