SoLo Funds: Debit Card Verification
SoLo Funds is a peer-to-peer microlending native app where a user can request loans that are funded by the public. SoLo Funds Debit Card Verification was a new feature for SoLo to help prevent fraud activity amongst the user base. SoLo partnered with 3rd party platform, Plaid to let users connect their banking credentials. This is some deep thinking, technical shit, folks.
Role: Lead Product Designer | UX Researcher | UX Copywriting
Duration Length: 6.5 Months (Apr 2022 - Oct 2022)
Responsibilities: Work with Data Scientists and PMs to compile user metrics/research, define scoping and requirements, understand feasibility from Engineers, work with a marketing copywriter to write though copy for users to understand. Design UX wireframes/high-fi screens. Document flows within Figma for handoffs.
P.S to all you creeps, you can Venmo $25 to @jennifercingatura for Figma file access đ«Ą
Whatâs the problem?
Nearly 34% of users on the SoLo platform face some type of fraud activity. Most fraud activity was completed through a user losing their debit card/phone or their bank information being hacked by a 3rd party - such a compromised password from a random website.
Usability goals: Ensure that users can easily connect and enter their banking information in just a few short steps, clearly understand the terminology being asked of them, and provide tips of what user are being asked to do.
Business goals: Decrease fraud activity within the app by partnering with 3rd party platform, Plaid, to have users enter in their banking credentials. Solo hoped to decrease fraud from 34% to 15% or less.
Predicted outcome: Partnering with Plaid to help streamline the process of verification will give users a sense of security that their Solo account is secured. Users will continue to esculate issues such as lost debit cards or stolen phones per usual so building out a feature that allows people to report that in-app versus might be the next phase.
Cookinâ up the UX flows
Leveraging the research in hand via Maze surveys and customer complaints, I continued to work with my PM to understand user stories and metrics to piece together some wireframes. I collaborated with data scientists and one product manager to gather information for dashboard program, Looker.
This feature was exceptional complex in technicality because SoLo was working with a 3rd party platform and a lot of API calling in the back-end of the SoLo platform. I had to create flows for 3 different users: Power Lenders (aka trusted lenders), new users, and current Borrowers. Each flow was different in that Power Lenders did not need to go through the Plaid platform because they were proven by metrics to be the most trusted users on the platform. It was mostly new users who had fraud activity on their account. I had to build so many entry points where a user could face to enter their information. Settings, Wallet, and through the Marketplace.
Above is just one flow produced to introduce new users to the Debit Card Verification feature within the app. In this flow, a user would be prompted within the wallet to add their information. This was a rough concept that ended up changing understand that drop-off very well could happen since there was so much information to go through and connect. During this stage too there was the exploration if a user wanted to connected multiple accounts and have multiple cards, as seen above. However this was too complex to do for a version 1 release.
Finishing touches on UI
After confirming with Engineers and my PM, I was able to translate the wireframes into high-fi screens. With these screens I was able to explore the option of messaging to the user base, notifying the users where in the process they were, how drop-offs would work if a user chose that process, what does the UI look for the difference between the Power Lenders versus everyone else.
I leveraged the SoLo Funds Design System to build out my screens for this feature.
New Users: Connect Plaid & Debit Card Flow
For new users flow, the emphasis was to block users from trying to request or fund a loan if they did not complete debit card verification. I decided to put a gentle reminder anytime someone tapped ârequestâ or âfund loanâ within the SoLo Funds marketplace app. It would push users to do a full go through from SoLo App (to get started) > Plaid (connect bank account) > SoLo App (connect debit card to bank account added back in Plaid). If a user would drop off after connecting Plaid, the user would not be able to fund or request a loan until they connect a debit card. Users would then be waiting a brief period of time (roughly 1-3 minutes) for connection to their bank account to debit card to be verified. A user would get an error message if something wasnât able to connect or a success message when things were able to connect.
Power Lenders: Add New Debit Card Flow
Power Lenders (aka trusted lenders) were user types that got a special treatment to DCV. SoLoâs Power Lender base was historically in metrics to not have their accounts marked with fraud. SoLo wanted to retain the easiest user experience for DCV through having Power Lenders just enter a new debit card whenever their card needed to be updated (new card, expired card, etc). In this flow the Power Lender just enters their card information and waits for a brief moment for their card to be verified within the SoLo system.
User Testing
For user testing, I wanted to user test our borrower base as I knew this new feature would impact these types of users the most. I used Maze to send out a unmoderate test survey to 11 partipants. I focused on users who were active to the app, all age ranges and genders.
Flow too funky and not fresh: Users felt it was a bit lengthy, which given the amount of information to enter, I predicted drop-off would be a thing no matter what we tried to shorten. Letâs be honest modern people have short attention spans, including me.
Safety first, folks: Users felt that this feature could help prevent fraud like activity on their accounts. Itâs like having your own personal club bouncer outside ready to not let the shady plebeians into your club.
Design Updates & Launch
SoLo Funds rolled out DCV to first 300K of users in Summer 2022:
Business, baby!: 88% of users successfully were able to connect a bank and debit card successfully.
Drop it like itâs hot (or not): Only 12% of users dropped off completely due to the level of effort still being asked of them or couldnât connect to Plaid at all. Plaidâs capabilities lacked for some users as either their bank wasnât supported or had trouble connecting to Plaid all together. At least we had our shit togetherđ€·đ»ââïž
Catch these errors (and hands): For updates post launch, we created designs to adopt to any error messages within the SoLo app that might occur because of Plaid not connecting correctly. I worked with a back-end engineer lead to understand all possible Plaid errors and how to message them within the app to users. SoLo also decided it was best to remove a few redundant screens to the flow as well.
New Users: Updated DCV Flow
Plaid Error: No Connection
In this new flow for Plaid errors (just one of many error types), if a user runs into a problem where Plaid has trouble connecting, the user will be notified within the Plaid connection > go back to the âconnected accountsâ screen in the SoLo app > be able to try again to connect their bank account with Plaid. In the event the user totally backs out to the Marketplace screen, the user will see an error message that tells them Plaid wasnât able to connect and to try to reconnect. This message will stay until the user attempts again within the app. The user is still blocked from funding or requesting a loan and will get a message each time they tap âfund loanâ or ârequestâ within the Marketplace.